He is the Oilers kryptonite. The silver lining to losing Bennett, Tkachuk, etc was the fact they all played enormous parts in keeping the Oilers from winning last years cup and hopefully this one too.
The Panthers without Bennett and Tkachuk likely result in Edmonton having a ring already and maybe poised to get a second.
That would be NO GOOD.
The Following 2 Users Say Thank You to FlamesAreOne For This Useful Post:
He is the Oilers kryptonite. The silver lining to losing Bennett, Tkachuk, etc was the fact they all played enormous parts in keeping the Oilers from winning last years cup and hopefully this one too.
The Panthers without Bennett and Tkachuk likely result in Edmonton having a ring already and maybe poised to get a second.
That would be NO GOOD.
Trading Bennett (and Tkachuk) was a sacrifice that had to be made for the greater good.
The Following User Says Thank You to FanSince'01 For This Useful Post:
He never would have been that player for us. We tried to ruin him.
He's been amazing in every playoffs he has been in. His full potential is fully released when he is #2 behind Barkov, though. And that is not to take anything away from Bennett, but being on Florida is the perfect scenario for him.
I still think talks of him getting 10mil plus per year are crazy. I see him as the perfect #2 center. That lifts his play to become an elite #1b center come playoffs.
Pretty much exactly this. We got glimpses of his playoff play but we did a poor job of player development in this case. The one positive I take (besides killing the Oilers) is that our drafting the last few years has been legit. We do a pretty good job picking guys, now if we can just develop and manage better we could be in business.
It sucks that our two highest draft picks ever aren't doing this for us, but at least they're bringing it against dumpsterville.
Pretty much exactly this. We got glimpses of his playoff play but we did a poor job of player development in this case. The one positive I take (besides killing the Oilers) is that our drafting the last few years has been legit. We do a pretty good job picking guys, now if we can just develop and manage better we could be in business.
It sucks that our two highest draft picks ever aren't doing this for us, but at least they're bringing it against dumpsterville.
As long as Conroy doesn't go insane and start getting UFAs like Brouwer and Neal, the Flames will be fine.
__________________
If you don't pass this sig to ten of your friends, you will become an Oilers fan.
Bennett's breakaway goal was so smooth I couldn't believe it was him. Like someone possessed his body. It didn't make sense to me.
Has anyone noticed how the Florida Coach is building up the players even when they make mistakes. He makes comments like "the guys will take that player out for supper", or "they will remind him of all the good things that he's done". When Bennett was here he seemed like the odd man out and when he played well, he was moved down to the fourth line the next game or two. When he showed up in the playoffs he was told that he could play center the next year he was moved right down and then benched. No wonder Sam Bennett didn't have any confidence playing for the Calgary Flames. I would argue at the time the Flames top line really wasn't top heavy we could score but we didn't have big enough, strong enough guys to sustain playoff hockey. We needed guys like Matt and Bennett to be leaders on the team. Heck in Florida they're calling Sam Bennett the "assistant captain". No wonder his confidence is so high! Maybe Calgary didn't handle Sam Bennett very well and didn't have the right coaches in place to build him up and use him properly. Maurice even said that he told Sam Bennett to take it easy during the season being less aggressive and taking penalties and ramp it up in the playoffs. What's more important... Florida Panthers have never had to take some Bennett off the second line, how long would that have lasted in Calgary? Calgary messed up on Bennett, even Convoy said as much. Florida does a good job at building the players up making sure that they don't feel left out or deflating confidence.
Last edited by DazzlinDino; 06-10-2025 at 11:56 PM.
The Following 16 Users Say Thank You to DazzlinDino For This Useful Post:
Elevating his game the later the season goes, Bennett has career averages of 0.49 points per game in the regular season, 0.73 in the playoffs and 0.80 in the Cup Final (12 points in 15 games).
Since hits were first tracked in 2005-06, no player has had double-digit goals and 100-plus hits in a single postseason. Bennett ranks second in the NHL in hits (97; behind Oilers forward Zach Hyman, 111) this postseason…
Thanks for posting that . Love that Maurice took that interview on the bench standing behind Bennett while being hilarious about Sam .
Sam is a bigger beast than even CrazyBaconlegs could have ever predicted .
Sam i hope the bubonic plague is contagious for thr rest of the playoffs for you guys and that it only requires 2 more games to bounce the ENG
I predict a total trap game by ENG ers wholl try and be aggressive with by intimidation but be unable to be man enough to control emotions amd be disciplined enough to stay out of the penalty box.
To win these days takes 100% discipline . Panthers live rent free in the heads of half that Roster. Paul Coffey wouldn't have had to be one of those guys either surrounded by goons and thugs but youd think hed recognize this and relay the information to his smaller brained player s that they cannot win this way.
2 more please Panthers . Defend whats yours dont let ENG back jnto this.
Go cats Go
The Following User Says Thank You to EVERLAST For This Useful Post:
