Quote:
Originally Posted by Timbo
The fact that this thread is almost 2 years old is testimony to its self.
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And it's just getting more and more pronounced (worse).
Bennett right now is on a 15 point pace shooting 7.3%.
Since Geoff ward took over on 10/30, Bennett's stat line looks like:
21gp / 2g / 1a / 12:20 TOI / 5.6% shooting
That's a 12 point pace since Ward took over and a 15 point pace on the season. This is, for the Flames, historically bad.
Since the lockout, the following flames players have played at least 65 games and scored 15 points or less:
Bouma 13-14
McCarty 05-06
Friesen 06-07
Kostopoulos 11-12
Stajan 17-18
Yelle 07-08
Lazar 17-18
Nystrom 08-09
McGrattan 13-14
Jackman 11-12
Godard 07-08
That's it. That's the entire list. Not many 'Solid 3rd liners' on that list.
I've seen some trade proposals on the board lately for Bennett, like 1 for 1 for Josh Anderson and I have to wonder, do posters on this board realize just how terrible this trend line is for Bennett?
70 forwards in the NHL this year have played at least 30 games and averaged between 10-13 minutes per game.
Bennett is 53 of 70 in points per game at .19 (Tied with Matt Martin, Toby Reider, Juhjar Khaira and Nate Thompson) He is 15th of 70 in TOI/GP. 59 of 70 in Even Strength points.
Among players who have played at least 20 games this year who play between 10-13 minutes per night, minor penalties taken:
Miles Wood 19 minors (45gp) (15pts) (aav 2.75)
Hartman 15 minors (45gp) (11pts) (aav 1.9)
Bennett 13 minors (32gp) (6pts) (aav 2.25)
Penalties drawn per 60 for the same isolation (20 games, 10-13 mins)
1. Hathaway
3. Miles Wood
4. Hartman
...
37. Bennett
Since Ward took over, Bennett has played just 4 games at 14 minutes or more per night, 9 times under 12 minutes. Bennett is solidly on the 4th line, not killing penalties while watching his PP minutes drop. He's bottoming out.
This is a player the organization is obviously trying to position for a trade, and yet the coach can't bring himself to find him any more minutes. Here's why:
Flames Record with Bennett over 14 minutes: 4-6
Flames Record with Bennett under 13 minutes: 12-8
Since January 1st, Bennett is averaging just 6 seconds per game on the Powerplay, having been supplanted firmly by Lucic and Ryan.
In the same span, he has averaged 0 seconds per game killing penalties.
In their last 15 games, Bennett has been outscored by Mike Frickin' Stone who I had actually forgotten was still with the team.
Josh Anderson is having a terrible year in terms of production, but still finds himself playing between 16-18 minutes per night on a team that finds themselves 1 point back of Toronto. Anderson is shooting just
1.6% and still sees himself on pace for 12 points, the pace Bennett has established for himself since Ward took over.
Bennett's value has now declined to that of a 4th liner, because despite protestations to the contrary, that's what he is.
The question of whether the flames have held on too long has long since been answered in the affirmative. The question now is, can a team be fooled into believing he's a 3rd line player? Can Bennett still be used as a piece in a multi-asset deal to bring back something substantial, or will the Flames just hold onto him, "laughing off" "lowball" offers for a 4th line player?