The Legend of Sam Bennett

[Locke]

I'm happy for Sam Bennett but...

I miss Sam Bennett.

Its just...its just so Calgary Flames. We got some really good players, we just got them at the wrong time and couldn't mesh them together so...once more unto the breach, again, we Flames fans must suffer.

Flames fandom = Suffering.

We know it. We acknowledge it. And yet we continue.

[dammage79]

Originally Posted by GioforPM

Not really. He said a couple nice things about Bennett before the trade but he was pretty nonchalant about it afterwards.

Pretty sure Sutter was on a Leafs program just a week ago and said he hated losing Bennett.

[DeluxeMoustache]

^ Yes, post 4818 in this thread from June 11 has the video where they ask Sutter about Bennett and he says he was very disappointed when he was traded

[FlamesAddiction]

Originally Posted by Locke

I'm happy for Sam Bennett but...

I miss Sam Bennett.

Its just...its just so Calgary Flames. We got some really good players, we just got them at the wrong time and couldn't mesh them together so...once more unto the breach, again, we Flames fans must suffer.

Flames fandom = Suffering.

We know it. We acknowledge it. And yet we continue.

The right place at the wrong time thing is such a Calgary Flames thing. Imagine if we could have kept the band together (Tkachuk, Bennett, JG, and Lindholm), and now had Wolf emerging as an elite goalie? I could easily convince myself that such a team would be a Stanley Cup contender.

[Locke]

Originally Posted by FlamesAddiction

The right place at the wrong time thing is such a Calgary Flames thing. Imagine if we could have kept the band together (Tkachuk, Bennett, JG, and Lindholm), and now had Wolf emerging as an elite goalie? I could easily convince myself that such a team would be a Stanley Cup contender.

Right?

And that doesnt even scratch the surface of the other big fish that we let get away.

"Oh, that St. Louis clown is never gunna hack it!"

"This Giguere idiot is no good!"

You could go on and on.

[Jason14h]

Don’t forget Savard when we needed a Savard for years

[Locke]

Originally Posted by Jason14h

Don’t forget Savard when we needed a Savard for years

Oh we could go on forever!

Then we get into 'the less talented brother' and we could do that for ages too.

[mile]

Also remember Bennett saying in an interview that Sutter said "I wish I had more time with you" after the trade happened

[GioforPM]

Originally Posted by DeluxeMoustache

^ Yes, post 4818 in this thread from June 11 has the video where they ask Sutter about Bennett and he says he was very disappointed when he was traded

Oh, sure, I saw that - I was talking about the comments at the time.

Of course, in that video they basically ask if he was always that good or did he improve his game after the trade and he says "all of the above". Which is what I have been saying. And he called him a 2/3 centre. It's funny that he says his best position was C when he himself stuck him on the wing most of the time and wasn't giving him significantly more minutes either.

[BigThief]

Sutter had Sam Bennett for five weeks, you're acting like they were together for two full seasons and Sutter didn't change anything. Sutter had been tinkering with the lineup and it's foolish to think he wouldn't continue. Gaudreau, Lindholm and Tkachuk were made a line, Monahan was moved down the roster (and played left wing towards the end)

Bennett had six points in his final six games as a Flame and before that streak Sam had games of 16-17 minutes a night which put him 4th 5th 6th in icetime for forwards.

The talking point you do have are so weak.

[GioforPM]

Originally Posted by BigThief

Sutter had Sam Bennett for five weeks, you're acting like they were together for two full seasons and Sutter didn't change anything. Sutter had been tinkering with the lineup and it's foolish to think he wouldn't continue. Gaudreau, Lindholm and Tkachuk were made a line, Monahan was moved down the roster (and played left wing towards the end)

Bennett had six points in his final six games as a Flame and before that streak Sam had games of 16-17 minutes a night which put him 4th 5th 6th in icetime for forwards.

The talking point you do have are so weak.

Yes, in the last bit Sutter upped his time. Ward had done so also. He also stuck at 10 minutes a few times, just like Ward.

But no, you guys are right. It was 100% coaching and Bennett could not have done a single thing to better his situation.

[Coach]

Originally Posted by Locke

I'm happy for Sam Bennett but...

I miss Sam Bennett.

Its just...its just so Calgary Flames. We got some really good players, we just got them at the wrong time and couldn't mesh them together so...once more unto the breach, again, we Flames fans must suffer.

Flames fandom = Suffering.

We know it. We acknowledge it. And yet we continue.

I don’t think it’s right players wrong time or anything. That implies it wouldn’t have worked ever in Calgary. It was poor development of good young players, and a wasted competitive window cut short by a lack of patience from ownership down to the fans. A couple playoffs cracks don’t go our way and everyone wants to sell everything. Calgarys real problem is not realizing it when we have something great. If it’s not absolutely perfect, it’s trash. You’re either conference finals each year or the team is a bust. It just doesn’t work like that. A few more years of patience and just enjoying having at least a competitive team, and less farting around with silly UFA signings and games with contractual rights that make your star players want to jet.

Oh, and shut down Monahan a year earlier until he’s healthy instead of paying to get rid of him. So dumb.

[Snuffleupagus]

I blame Gulutzan for Bennett's demise here, young players need confidence for success.

Bennett was off and running after his rookie season even under the hard ass Hartley, Gulutzan came in and after a few mistakes promptly shoved him down the lineup and on the wing, by the time Peters/Ward got him he didn't know what way was up.

[Cali Panthers Fan]

Originally Posted by Snuffleupagus

I blame Gulutzan for Bennett's demise here, young players need confidence for success.

Bennett was off and running after his rookie season even under the hard ass Hartley, Gulutzan came in and after a few mistakes promptly shoved him down the lineup and on the wing, by the time Peters/Ward got him he didn't know what way was up.

Yet another reason to hate Edmonton now.

[blankall]

Originally Posted by GioforPM

Not really. He said a couple nice things about Bennett before the trade but he was pretty nonchalant about it afterwards.

BTW, Bennett wasn't a healthy scratch in Sutter's first game (March 11, 2021), so it wasn't a matter of copying Ward's lineup. Whoever said that was making it up. He played and got a couple points in that game. In fact, in hindsight I think he wasn't scratched, just benched, by Sutter.

He definitely played better, especially in the last 4 games under Sutter - the first game he had a couple assists, but then went ice cold until 4 games before the trade. Sutter still played him mainly third line (also 4th) and on the wing. Again, the issue was the makeup of the team as far as position went.

According to Bennett, Sutter told him "I wish I had more time with you". That seems like lamenting to me.

Getting off topic again, but the Flames are constantly getting in the way of their own players' development. And the Flames organization always responds with making players work harder.

Reminds me of the time I was working in the kitchen at Earls. We were short staffed and moral was low. Management thought if we cleaned the whole restaurant really well, from top to bottom, the extra work would somehow bring us together. Meanwhile, that same day, the front of the house was sampling a new lineup of wines. Needless to say, management's strategy did not have the intended effect.

Pretty much the Flames motto. Let's force every player to be a mid-six grinder and then complain that we have a team full of mid-six grinders or that every player that doesn't want to be a mid-six grinder wants out.

[FlamesAddiction]

As much as I like the player Bennett has become, I don't think it's fair to absolve him for his role in it not working out here. He played like a bonehead in his final season in Calgary and was extremely frustrating to watch.

He was puckhogging, refusing to pass to line mates and instead opting to take low percentage shots, and taking selfish penalties that killed momentum. I get that he was frustrated and thought that he should play with better players, and he probably proved that point in the long run, but at the time he wasn't doing anything to earn that.

[Paulie Walnuts]

Originally Posted by Snuffleupagus

I blame Gulutzan for Bennett's demise here, young players need confidence for success.

Bennett was off and running after his rookie season even under the hard ass Hartley, Gulutzan came in and after a few mistakes promptly shoved him down the lineup and on the wing, by the time Peters/Ward got him he didn't know what way was up.

Its interesting how he took off under Sutter(2cups) JQ(3 cups) Maurice (1 cup).

Coaching matters. Getting bargin store coaches like Glenn usually doesnt work out.

[ForeverFlameFan]

Originally Posted by Paulie Walnuts

Its interesting how he took off under Sutter(2cups) JQ(3 cups) Maurice (1 cup).

Coaching matters. Getting bargin store coaches like Glenn usually doesnt work out.

It was and will always be Treliving's biggest downfall.

[blankall]

Originally Posted by FlamesAddiction

As much as I like the player Bennett has become, I don't think it's fair to absolve him for his role in it not working out here. He played like a bonehead in his final season in Calgary and was extremely frustrating to watch.

He was puckhogging, refusing to pass to line mates and instead opting to take low percentage shots, and taking selfish penalties that killed momentum. I get that he was frustrated and thought that he should play with better players, and he probably proved that point in the long run, but at the time he wasn't doing anything to earn that.

Bennett still does that. He's going to get more goals when he's playing with high end linemates. People don't notice your bonehead penalties as much when your team is winning and you're knocking in game winning goals. He's actually averaging getting more penalties in Florida, although that's also likely a function of him getting more ice time.

[Badgers Nose]

Originally Posted by mile

Also remember Bennett saying in an interview that Sutter said "I wish I had more time with you" after the trade happened

Sutter was on a Toronto hockey show with Rose Hill recently and he mentioned he was disappointed when Sam got traded. Daryl only had a couple of months with him.

I also seem to recall he was upset Money was traded too - something about trading captain material.

Maybe in some alt history universe, GMBT is fired and Daryl coaches and GMs. We win a Cup and then Daryl drives the team into the ground with his inevitable bad trades.