I'm sure he wanted to play for Sutter. But frankly having a trade request and then yanking it doesn't sit well with me anyway. Especially when the new coach is doing exactly what the old coach did.
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Wanting to change jobs because of poor management then wanting to stay when a manager you like moves in... Doesn't sit well with you?
We have no idea if the new coach is doing the exact same stuff. If Sutter discussed Bennett's future with the team and that his role will expand that could make a person change their perspectives
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I think you're referring to me, as the low hockey IQ comment poster.
i agree with you 100%. The organization did not play Bennett to his strengths. As for Bennett having a low hockey IQ, scoring lots of goals does not mean you have a high hockey IQ. There have been guys who led the league in goals, who were totally unskilled in other aspects besides goal scoring.
Meh. Maurice says he is reliably on the right side of the puck, doesn’t cheat the game. He seems to be good at identifying opportunities and jumping in where it makes sense.
Call it whatever level of hockey IQ you like.
Whatever his hockey IQ, it seems to be working well with his skill, physicality, and compete level at playoff time against the Oilers, which is nice
Meh. Maurice says he is reliably on the right side of the puck, doesn’t cheat the game. He seems to be good at identifying opportunities and jumping in where it makes sense.
Call it whatever level of hockey IQ you like.
Whatever his hockey IQ, it seems to be working well with his skill, physicality, and compete level at playoff time against the Oilers, which is nice
He's one of the best at jumping in. He's not going to be the guy setting up a line of non-high end players though.
Some people are still hung up on blaming Bennett and I don’t get it
Fact is he was never given consistent linemates and rarely played at his natural position
The GM is the guy who ruined the Flames and is now thankfully ruining the Leafs
The coaches were all duds selected by him
He went somewhere where he was played at his position with consistent linemates and fluorished
The underachievers running the Flames recognized his low hockey IQ, according to the guy a few posts up, but he is leading the entire playoffs in goals this year
Why are people putting effort in to talking the guy down? Defending the Flames regime that squandered Tkachuk, let Johnny walk, traded a first to get rid of Monahan, and simply couldn’t figure out the 2 piece puzzle that would get value out of Bennett
It is just weird at this point
I'm saying it's not all one sided. Do you think Bennett did his best to achieve here?
I'm saying it's not all one sided. Do you think Bennett did his best to achieve here?
Pretty much, given what he had to work with, and where he was at in his development arc. I never questioned the effort, but you could see the frustration
I remember Hartley loved him and said he was like a caged cat, you couldn’t hold him back. This is something you want in not only hockey but other professions. I’d rather have to reel someone in than push them out
Then Tre put his stamp on the team and some really bad coaches couldn’t figure out what to do
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Pretty much, given what he had to work with, and where he was at in his development arc. I never questioned the effort, but you could see the frustration
I remember Hartley loved him and said he was like a caged cat, you couldn’t hold him back. This is something you want in not only hockey but other professions. I’d rather have to reel someone in than push them out
Then Tre put his stamp on the team and some really bad coaches couldn’t figure out what to do
Hartley said that before he'd played one regular season game.
I think it's crazy to place all the blame on one side for a player not busting into the roster. The same staff saw a guy a year older in Monahan and he forced his way into the top line. Andersson forced his way up the lineup. Tkachuk as well.
He healthy scratched him and played him mainly on Derek Ryan's wing. Which Sutter probably thought was great because he loved Derek Ryan.
When did Sutter scratch Bennett?
Sutter was hired on March 4 and Bennett was scratched March 4 and March 6 but due to Covid protocols Sutter didn't take the bench until March 7 or 11. Anyway, after those two games Bennett played every game until he was traded.
There was speculation that Bennett could wind up in Toronto but I've wondered about that. Would he go back to Treliving?
Apparently he's said he wouldn't go to Toronto. I don't blame him, even aside from Treliving. Though he's exactly what they need. He'd be a third string centre behind Matthews and Tavares untless Tavares takes a back seat (unlikely). And I think while he's obviously a good crunch player, he also enjoys not being under a microscope.
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Pretty good article at the Athletic today regarding Bennett's worth in free agency. The prevailing thought is that he's going to get overpaid but the contract may not age as bad as many of us think it could.
Playoff Bennett is a different player. Playoff Bennett is a dawg.
Among players who have actually accrued a decent enough sample (41 games) over the last five playoffs, only six have elevated their offensive game by six or more goals per 82: Jonathan Marchessault, Zach Hyman, Ondrej Palat, Sam Bennett, Artturi Lehkonen and Leon Draisaitl. Two of those — Marchessault and Palat — have been one-playoff wonders. The other four do it (almost) every year, having four of five seasons where their Offensive Rating jumps by four or more goals per 82. Consider that the gold standard of dawg (with Connor McDavid too, of course), an exclusive group that Bennett is a part of.
Quote:
Based on Corey Sznajder’s tracking work, he certainly has the puck skills to do so. Bennett is no passenger on Tkachuk’s line — he’s very involved in all three zones, chipping in on breakouts and creating a lot of chances in zone. He’s also elite at moving the puck through the neutral zone with control, a skill he probably doesn’t get enough credit for.
Quote:
For Bennett to be worth the big bucks, he does need to offer a bit more in the regular season — and luckily he does appear to have the tools to do so. No one knows exactly how he’ll age, and I’m not saying the Kadri or Hyman path is a guarantee. That’s still the best-case scenario and not the most likely one. But there are some reasons to be optimistic that a Bennett deal won’t be as bad as the sticker shock that comes with paying a 55-point center $8 million.
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I'm sure he wanted to play for Sutter. But frankly having a trade request and then yanking it doesn't sit well with me anyway. Especially when the new coach is doing exactly what the old coach did.
Calgary made big mistakes developing Bennett. But no one seems to put any onus on Bennett to (a) play better within the role and (b) make the most of what time he had when given what he wanted. I think that Florida gave him a better chance to succeed for sure. But that's pretty typical - Calgary did the same with Lindholm. I also think that Bennett probably figured that he had to up his game after the trade, which he finally did.
Lots of people have put the onus on Sam Bennett, but just take a look at how he has been handled in Florida compared to Calgary. In Calgary he would have been put right back down on the fourth line but in Florida he has been on the second line since he got there. We can keep trying to blame the player over and over but at the end of the day Calgary didn't know what they had in Sam Bennett and they didn't know how to harnesses his potential. Even Conroy after Bennett was traded said that he should have been given more of an opportunity . If Craig Conroy saw something, why don't we believe him?
Even Sutter said he was disappointed to see Bennett traded, Bennett himself said that he liked playing for Sutter. Sam is proving everyone wrong since he got to Florida and we are still blaming the player. What many don't realize is that Florida has been doing this with several other players too, they are able to identify players that are being handled poorly in other organizations and bring them into their own. Sam Reinhart is another one.., a player that we probably could have gotten at that time too.
I get trying to share the responsibility between the Calgary Flames and Sam, but improvement for the Calgary Flames doesn't come from blaming Sam Bennett. It comes from self-evaluation within the organization. Cuz we need to look at Florida and see how they're treating the players and building them up. Calgary doesn't need to blame the player they need to recognize they made some blunders. That is a big issue when you consider how difficult it is to get top elite players in this league.
I agree with EE, I think it's unfair to blame the player when the organization has to do better job to keep their star players. In Florida he's the assistant captain in Calgary he is likely still hovering the fourth line under Tre. Craig Conroy on the other hand seems to have gotten the coaches vets and the young players playing together and supporting each other.
That is a huge step!
Last edited by DazzlinDino; 06-12-2025 at 01:45 PM.
Pretty good article at the Athletic today regarding Bennett's worth in free agency. The prevailing thought is that he's going to get overpaid but the contract may not age as bad as many of us think it could.
A friendly reminder that Sam Bennett once briefly played with Monahan and Gaudreau in what could have been scenario, only to be bumped off for Chris Stewart.
Bennett if he ends up winning the Conn Smythe should invite Gulutzan to help raise it for him.
Hartley said that before he'd played one regular season game.
I think it's crazy to place all the blame on one side for a player not busting into the roster. The same staff saw a guy a year older in Monahan and he forced his way into the top line. Andersson forced his way up the lineup. Tkachuk as well.
I correspondingly kind of think that your revisionist history to suit your narrative is tending towards crazy
Monahan was older, slotted with Gaudreau and they had chemistry
Tkachuk? They instantly gave him Bennett’s spot with Backlund and Frolik, and the 3 M line was born, and then put Bennett bottom 6. He didn’t force a thing. And Tkachuk performed comparably his first year
Bennett was slotted bottom 6 and produced like a bottom 6
Sorry I can’t argue with your position if you are making up things to support it
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I correspondingly kind of think that your revisionist history to suit your narrative is tending towards crazy
Monahan was older, slotted with Gaudreau and they had chemistry
Tkachuk? They instantly gave him Bennett’s spot with Backlund and Frolik, and the 3 M line was born, and then put Bennett bottom 6. He didn’t force a thing. And Tkachuk performed comparably his first year
Bennett was slotted bottom 6 and produced like a bottom 6
Sorry I can’t argue with your position if you are making up things to support it
Monahan is one year older than Bennett, as I said.
Bennett was given time on pretty much every line. And he underwhelmed - go back and look at the comments at the time. He was terrible defensively his first three years, and under Peters he was one of only two regulars with a minus. Everyone else was double digits in the pluses.
And by comparable you mean Tkachuk got 48 points in 76 games (and +14) to Bennett's 36 in 77 (and -11), OK I guess. You say he produced like a bottom six when in that role. Well, he was moved up from time to time, but he managed to prodice less than other bottom sixers like Lucic, Dube, and Ryan. Somehow he got passed by Andrew Mangiapane.
And speaking of making things up, the year he got traded, Bennett's most minutes were with Monahan and Gaudreau. Almost twice as much as with Lucic and Dube or Backlund and Leivo. https://frozenpool.dobbersports.com/players/sam-bennett
I don't know how many times I can say that, yes, the Flames didn't do a good job with his development. But it doesn't take much to see that some of this was on Bennett. And his game improved when he hit Fla, not just because of opportunity, but also because he simply played better.
Last edited by GioforPM; 06-12-2025 at 02:11 PM.
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Monahan is one year older than Bennett, as I said.
Bennett was given time on pretty much every line. And he underwhelmed - go back and look at the comments at the time. He was terrible defensively his first three years, and under Peters he was one of only two regulars with a minus. Everyone else was double digits in the pluses.
And by comparable you mean Tkachuk got 48 points in 76 games (and +14) to Bennett's 36 in 77 (and -11), OK I guess. You say he produced like a bottom six when in that role. Well, he was moved up from time to time, but he managed to prodice less than other bottom sixers like Lucic, Dube, and Ryan. Somehow he got passed by Andrew Mangiapane.
And speaking of making things up, the year he got traded, Bennett's most minutes were with Monahan and Gaudreau. Almost twice as much as with Lucic and Dube or Backlund and Leivo. https://frozenpool.dobbersports.com/players/sam-bennett
I don't know how many times I can say that, yes, the Flames didn't do a good job with his development. But it doesn't take much to see that some of this was on Bennett. And his game improved when he hit Fla, not just because of opportunity, but also because he simply played better.
Definitely Sam Bennett played better when he got to Florida, so has Sam Reinhardt. Florida is doing something that making these players believe in their abilities. I believe Calgary is on the right track under Craig Conroy, they've made some changes, they have a leadership group to build up the young guys, and in the interviews they keep talking about how they believe in each other. I believe they're taking on a bit of the Florida model. Ryan Lomberg, played under the Florida model I am sure they have talked about it.
Blaming the player doesn't do anything for the Calgary Flames, they're the ones that need to improve.
Last edited by DazzlinDino; 06-12-2025 at 02:30 PM.
