Quote:
Originally Posted by Mattman
I have a question here regarding Bennett's utilization and "mismanagement" of his time on the Flames. Since it is clear he has the tools of a top 9 center (top 6 if we want to be generous), when and why was he never able to secure a spot over Backlund?
Yes these are two different players and have different roles on the team, but why was Bennett never really given a fair shake at a stable line in the top 6?
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I think there are two very basic factors
1) The Flames thought they had a legitimate number one center in Sean Monahan based on the counting stats he put up.
2) The Flames thought they had a legitimate number one-B center in Mikael Backlund, based on the documented dominance of the 3M line(s)
I don't think it's any more complicated than that. The Flames thought Monahan-Backlund was a good enough 1-2 punch and unless Bennett showed McDavid/MacKinnon levels of out-of-this-world ability, he couldn't possibly be an upgrade.