Sam Bennett as a center or winger?

[red sky]

Sam's Postcard

- Don't turnover the puck at the oppositions blue line
- Don't take a stick infraction 200 feet from your net. Actually no stick penalties at all.
- Do stay on your feet

Sincerely,

GG

[kevman]

Originally Posted by TOfan

Problem with that is, the Flames seem to be a team looking to content sooner than later.

Waiting on Bennett is not a luxury thus team can afford, if they want to hit this window.

If the Flames want to hang with the top teams (and it seems theats what they are trying to do) they need the be three lines deep. We don't have the elite top end talent other contending teams have. The Flames are built similar to Columbus. Deep. If the Flames aren't deep, what are they? Money & Jonny can't hang with McDavid-Draisatl, seguin-Benn, Teows-kane, Mathews-Nylander, Crosby-Malkin, etc etc....they need three lines that can contribute.

Right now, their third line? Zero......ZERO. Literally zero.

They won't be able to compete with that.

Well...

Monahan and Gaudreau have 31 points combined so far.

McDavid & Draisatl - 25
Seguin & Benn - 29
Toews & Kane - 24
Mathews & Nylander - 29
Crosy & Malkin - 28

So it appears they can in fact hang with them.

That's not to say I don't disagree with your point that the Flames need to see some depth scoring sooner than later if they really want to be a contender.

[kukkudo]

Originally Posted by kevman

Well...

Monahan and Gaudreau have 31 points combined so far.

McDavid & Draisatl - 25
Seguin & Benn - 29
Toews & Kane - 24
Mathews & Nylander - 29
Crosy & Malkin - 28

So it appears they can in fact hang with them.

That's not to say I don't disagree with your point that the Flames need to see some depth scoring sooner than later if they really want to be a contender.

Just to add to this.

Monahan and Gaudreau -31 (Combined 13.25M)
McDavid & Draisatl - 25 (Combined 12.27M Soon to be 21M)
Seguin & Benn - 29 (Combined 15.75M)
Toews & Kane - 24 (Combined 21M)
Mathews & Nylander - 29 (Combined 5.5M Rumoured future 20M Plus)
Crosby & Malkin - 28 (Combined 18.2M)

[EldrickOnIce]

Originally Posted by kevman

Well...

Monahan and Gaudreau have 31 points combined so far.

McDavid & Draisatl - 25
Seguin & Benn - 29
Toews & Kane - 24
Mathews & Nylander - 29
Crosy & Malkin - 28

So it appears they can in fact hang with them.

That's not to say I don't disagree with your point that the Flames need to see some depth scoring sooner than later if they really want to be a contender.

Not certain how this is relevant. Crosby/Malkin and Toews/Kane don't play on the same lines. Their scoring depth is spread around.
The Pens third liners Guentzel and Kessel have 24 points. Flames current third line trio has 1 point.

[kevman]

Originally Posted by EldrickOnIce

Not certain how this is relevant. Crosby/Malkin and Toews/Kane don't play on the same lines. Their scoring depth is spread around.
The Pens third liners Guentzel and Kessel have 24 points. Flames current third line trio has 1 point.

I was responding to TOfan's assertion that Monahan and Gaudreau can't hang with the other elite talent in the league. Yes the Flames are going to need more depth to succeed but it's not because we don't have the top end talent. It's because all teams, even those with top end talent, still need depth.

[Jeff Lebowski]

When I watch Bennett I see a guy that when he looks to score he just sees the goalie, he's not seeing net. Perhaps every chance he gets is so monumentally huge in his mind that it's creating a lot of tension so everything seems very fast or rushed.

However I also see a guy who is skating hard and looking to make things happen and I don't think he's been terrible overall.

I believe once he gets on the scoresheet he will relax, things will slow down, and his game will really take off. He and Jankowski need to keep generating chances but learn to be calm when shooting (like Monahan is) so that they can see net and finish.

[EldrickOnIce]

Originally Posted by kevman

I was responding to TOfan's assertion that Monahan and Gaudreau can't hang with the other elite talent in the league. Yes the Flames are going to need more depth to succeed but it's not because we don't have the top end talent. It's because all teams, even those with top end talent, still need depth.

Sorry. Misread this

[Stud_McCool]

What's concerning is Bennett being on a "show-me" bridge contract. This alone, should be motivation enough to perform better than expectation.

[bax]

Since Bennett has been moved to the wing his CF% has jumped from 41 to 56. His line has out chanced their opponents 37-22.

Case in point this is good for the Flames. The puck will start going in eventually

[ComixZone]

Yeah, what a surprise - finally give Bennett some decent linemates to play with and things start to turn around.

Shocking.

It’s almost as if filling the bottom half of your roster with overpaid, bad 5v5 players, and then slapping them on the shoulders of a 19/20 year old centre is going to have a negative impact on that centre.

Expecting Sam Bennett to carry a line 5v5, even a third line, while carrying dead weight like Brouwer, Versteeg, or whatever other parts that happen to be laying around was a bad plan from the get-go. You have to set players up for success - and the Flames set him up for failure.

Jankowski + Bennett look like they’re building themselves into a strong duo - which as a Flames fan is exciting to see.

[Tyler]

Originally Posted by ComixZone

It’s almost as if filling the bottom half of your roster with overpaid, bad 5v5 players, and then slapping them on the shoulders of a 19/20 year old centre is going to have a negative impact on that centre.

[united]

Originally Posted by bax

Since Bennett has been moved to the wing his CF% has jumped from 41 to 56. His line has out chanced their opponents 37-22.

Case in point this is good for the Flames. The puck will start going in eventually

You can at least give credit to the source:

https://theathletic.com/147880/2017/...-step-forward/
All of those numbers have jumped up markedly. Bennett's aggregate CF% since the loss to Carolina (where his line was outshot -22 +6), is 56 percent. In the previous seven games? 41 percent. His line has consistently out-chanced the bad guys over the same span as well. According to Natural Stat Trick, Bennett was on the ice for 37 scoring chances at even strength and only 22 chances against (62%) over the last seven games.

[Zulu29]

Sam is due for a breakout, it’s beyond belief how snake bitten he’s been.

[djsFlames]

Originally Posted by kevman

Well...

Monahan and Gaudreau have 31 points combined so far.

McDavid & Draisatl - 25
Seguin & Benn - 29
Toews & Kane - 24
Mathews & Nylander - 29
Crosy & Malkin - 28

So it appears they can in fact hang with them.

That's not to say I don't disagree with your point that the Flames need to see some depth scoring sooner than later if they really want to be a contender.

Gaudreau-Monahan is criminally underrated across the league.

Absolutely neck and neck with all the top pairings. Just cause they don't get hyped to the nines like some of these guys every night on the tube doesn't mean they can't produce up there with the best.

But yes we need Bennett and Jankowski (or whoever steps into that role in the coming seasons) to grow into players that can be banked on to produce every second, or at minimum every third game on average.

[bax]

Originally Posted by united

You can at least give credit to the source:



https://theathletic.com/147880/2017/...-step-forward/

All of those numbers have jumped up markedly. Bennett's aggregate CF% since the loss to Carolina (where his line was outshot -22 +6), is 56 percent. In the previous seven games? 41 percent. His line has consistently out-chanced the bad guys over the same span as well. According to Natural Stat Trick, Bennett was on the ice for 37 scoring chances at even strength and only 22 chances against (62%) over the last seven games.

My bad- credit to Kent Wilson from the Athletic. I figured posting his content that’s behind a pay wall was a no-no.

[Flash Walken]

What's concerning me the most is the absense of an NHL quality shot.

You look at Ferland and think, "That guy can score goals if someone gives him a setup." you look at bennett and think "maybe that guy can jam a puck into the net if he doesn't get tackled along the way".

The lack of finish is as disturbing as the lack of distribution in my opinion.

[rain_e]

Originally Posted by Flash Walken

What's concerning me the most is the absense of an NHL quality shot.

I just re-watched some of his junior highlights and I see a quality shot.

Originally Posted by Flash Walken

You look at Ferland and think, "That guy can score goals if someone gives him a setup." you look at bennett and think "maybe that guy can jam a puck into the net if he doesn't get tackled along the way".

The lack of finish is as disturbing as the lack of distribution in my opinion.

8.5 shooting percentage. Now that's some quality shooting below NHL average. Let's put him on the first line. He'll eventually hit the net and get a goal if Johnny makes it easy enough for him.

[pepper24]

Hopefully the Bennett can get his first point of season and Jankowski can get his first NHL point. Highly touted but not producing.

[Tinordi]

Originally Posted by pepper24

Hopefully the Bennett can get his first point of season and Jankowski can get his first NHL point. Highly touted but not producing.

Jankowski is what he is, a nice depth center. The rush to proclaim him as a top 6 center after one decent AHL season and training camp was typical of many fans but just not supported by a sober assessment of him as a prospect.

Point being, Jankowski is not disappointing while Bennett is.

[pepper24]

Yeah, true. Bennett's lack of production this season and not panning out yet as at center gives a lot of leverage to Backlund as he looks for an extension.