Just my own rambling thoughts: to me one of the biggest issues with Sam was between the ears. Forget for a moment the deployment, line mates, position, etc -- everyone on CP watched him do relatively little during five regular seasons and then seemingly turn it up a notch or three come playoffs. I think everyone can agree on that. You can argue the refs call things differently in the playoffs, but I think that was only a small factor.
From Calgary's perspective, if that same player (PSB, aka Playoff Sam Bennett) showed up consistently (if at all) during the regular season, this is a whole different conversation. But he didn't. Instead we saw a fairly large sample size of lacklustre play, inability to produce, and occasional physicality. Potential contributing factors have been discussed at length already.
But if we put him between Gaudreau and Lindholm, and gave him PP1 and PK opportunities, would that have raised his GAF meter? Perhaps. But I'm not convinced it necessarily would have or that the team would have been better off because of it. In this case I think Sam did need a change of scenery, and now that he's got it plus (i) a coach that is putting him in all situations, and (ii) top six teammates that complement what his skill set is, we're seeing "PSB" show up for Florida.
I'm not yet convinced "PSB" is here to stay full-time -- or that the numbers they are putting up during this current stretch are sustainable -- but I will admit that I was apparently wrong about him being able to play in the top-six at the NHL level. He's doing that right now. For some players they seem to struggle with the mental side of the game, and credit the Panthers for putting him in a situation where he's regained his confidence and can play to his strengths. I think there had to be some maturity from Sam as well, so we'll see where it goes from here. Sucks for the Flames, great for the player.
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