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Originally Posted by flamesgod
When did he centre the top two lines?
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They tried him on Gaudreau's line a few times, both at C and RW, and he had zero chemistry there. He was tried with other combinations of skilled wingers as well, and nothing worked. At the time, he seemed to have a rare ability to make top wingers
worse.
In retrospect, I firmly believe he should have had some AHL time learning to play a top-line role, but that 36-point rookie season convinced everyone he was fully NHL-ready. Instead, he puttered around as a bottom-six forward for years, and even in Florida he's never broken 50 points. On a line with Verhaeghe and Tkachuk, he is by far the weakest link – which is not what you want from a top-6 centre.
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Originally Posted by DazzlinDino
I can remember times when Bennett was put on the top line and playing well a couple games and for no apparent reason they  moved him right back down. |
I can tell you the reason: Those lines didn't produce any offence.
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Then there was Sam Bennett the top Flames player in the playoffs, fighting and sticking up for his teammates.
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Whenever he tried to play that style in the regular season, he took stupid penalties.
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The very next season they moved him back down the lineup and even benched him without telling him why.
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I find it extremely hard to believe that they didn't tell him why. The reason was obvious: he played a style that was only effective if the referees put away their whistles. He had to break the rules to succeed.
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It has been 2 years now and Sam Bennett is still playing fantastic for Florida
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For values of ‘fantastic’ where he is by far the worst player on his line.
Florida has the luxury of carrying a passenger on the second line during the regular season. The Flames didn't.