Sam Bennett Value: Have the Flames held on TOO long? OR is he awesome?

[dino7c]

Bennett isn't really in a position to complain about linemates when Janko is better player than him already

[dammage79]

I had always thought "Busts" don't play in the league. Bennett's an NHL player. IMO his floor for Poterntial was and always will be Ferland. His ceiling is so much higher though. I still believe he can be a 50-60 point guy consistently in the near future.

[ResAlien]

Originally Posted by dammage79

I had always thought "Busts" don't play in the league. Bennett's an NHL player. IMO his floor for Poterntial was and always will be Ferland. His ceiling is so much higher though. I still believe he can be a 50-60 point guy consistently in the near future.

I wish I was as optimistic as you are. It feels like his ceiling is carving out a career as a decent bottom 6 energy guy and that’s if he can reign in the offensive zone penalties that make him a liability. He did do a better job of staying on his skates as the year went on so that’s progress. 25 point 15/10 kind of guy.

[Flames Draft Watcher]

Originally Posted by dino7c

Bennett isn't really in a position to complain about linemates when Janko is better player than him already

Jankowski is also two years older and arguably 3 years of development ahead because Bennett missed almost an entire season after being drafted due to surgery. Because Bennett jumped into the league so quickly, missed almost a full year of development I think people expect him to be further along than he is. Some of that is maybe fair and some of that I think is maybe a tad unfair. Mark Scheiffele for example didn't break out until 2015-16 after being drafting in 2011. Bennett was drafted in 2014 and therefore the corresponding season for him would be 2018-19, next season.

Not everyone develops at the same rate. Not everyone is Sean Monahan or Matthew Tkachuk. Some guys take a little longer and that's not the end of the world. Look how long Bertuzzi took. Or Backlund. Or Scheiffele.

I think some posters here are being a bit impatient with Bennett. Yeah we all wish he would've become a star already but if he still develops into one its great for the organization. No need to give up on him just yet. The upside is still too high to cut bait on. His trade value is not going to be anywhere near as high as his upside remains.

[Hemi-Cuda]

Originally Posted by dammage79

I had always thought "Busts" don't play in the league. Bennett's an NHL player. IMO his floor for Poterntial was and always will be Ferland. His ceiling is so much higher though. I still believe he can be a 50-60 point guy consistently in the near future.

Alexi Yashin played 12 years in the NHL, but is still considered one of the biggest busts of all time. Any time you draft in the top 5 and can only walk away with a "bottom 6 energy guy" at best, it's a failure

[Flames Draft Watcher]

Originally Posted by Hemi-Cuda

Alexi Yashin played 12 years in the NHL, but is still considered one of the biggest busts of all time. Any time you draft in the top 5 and can only walk away with a "bottom 6 energy guy" at best, it's a failure

I'm with dammage on this one. Busts are guys that didn't turn into solid NHLers. Yashin was not a bust. Guys like Tkaczuk and Fata were. Scott Scissons, Brendl, Svitov, Chistov.

You could call a guy like Yashin a disappointment given his draft position but he's not a pure bust. I guess you could argue there's a continuum but then we'd have to start defining that.

[dammage79]

Originally Posted by Hemi-Cuda

Alexi Yashin played 12 years in the NHL, but is still considered one of the biggest busts of all time. Any time you draft in the top 5 and can only walk away with a "bottom 6 energy guy" at best, it's a failure

Just too early. Bennett is still 4-5 years pre Apex to use a Feasterism. Just a difference of opinion.

[CliffFletcher]

Originally Posted by Flames Draft Watcher

The upside is still too high to cut bait on. His trade value is not going to be anywhere near as high as his upside remains.

Do you think it was dumb of Ottawa to trade Lazar for a 2nd rounder? Should they have hung onto him because of his upside?

[cross16]

Originally Posted by dino7c

Bennett isn't really in a position to complain about linemates when Janko is better player than him already

Is that really true, or a bit of recency bias given his last game?

Up until that last game i would argue their seasons were actually pretty similar. Both had flashes, good starts once Jagr was here, then very inconsistent, and both finished somewhat strong just in different games.

i think both could use better linemates.

[Johnny Makarov]

He reminds me so much of Taylor Hall minus the scoring. No hockey IQ. hopefully he grows one next year.

[dammage79]

If he's a 26 point guy again next year I may start to agree he's approaching draft failure. But until then I'm going to be patient.

[dammage79]

Originally Posted by Johnny Makarov

He reminds me so much of Taylor Hall minus the scoring. No hockey IQ. hopefully he grows one next year.

Hey, if he's like Taylor Hall, Awesome!!! Flipping MVP this year.

[Flames Draft Watcher]

Originally Posted by CliffFletcher

Do you think it was dumb of Ottawa to trade Lazar for a 2nd rounder? Should they have hung onto him because of his upside?

Not sure why you make that comparison. I think the comparison doesn't tell us much of anything for a few reasons.

1. Lazar doesn't have the upside Bennett has. When Lazar was drafted he was seen as a probable 2nd liner, safe 3rd liner. Bennett was seen as a probable 1st liner, safe 2nd liner. Both have disappointed so I get your comparison there but Bennett was always considered a tier above Lazar.
2. OTT had to make a decision with the upcoming expansion draft whether it was better to keep Lazar and either protect him or leave him unprotected or to trade him immediately for a 2nd rounder. CGY does not face this dilemma at the moment.

What are you really trying to get at?

[icecube]

Originally Posted by Hemi-Cuda

Alexi Yashin played 12 years in the NHL, but is still considered one of the biggest busts of all time. Any time you draft in the top 5 and can only walk away with a "bottom 6 energy guy" at best, it's a failure

I think you might mean Alexandre Daigle. Yashin was actually pretty good for a while.

[dammage79]

Daigle played close to 700 games. I think perception may have killed him being the First player taken by Ottawa ever. They also blew his development right out of the water. Not making excuses but he was bust then he came back as was a serviceable player for a few years. Can a bust label be rescinded?

[Robbob]

I am far from an expert but I think a lot of what ails Bennett is between his ears. The sooner he can relax and push that 4th overall label the sooner he will be an effective NHLer. He has all skills to be effective, he just seems he is trying to do it all in one shift.

I think Tre and coaching staff have even mentioned that he is the hardest on himself and when things don't do right it just snowballs on him. Which is to be expected from a kid. December Bennett showed me he can play in this league and be very effective. He just needs to do that consistently.

[icecube]

The poster who said he has to work on his shot release was bang on. He takes forever to get it off his stick. That can be improved if he puts in the effort over the summer.

[CliffFletcher]

Originally Posted by Flames Draft Watcher

What are you really trying to get at?

I'm pointing out that players of Bennett's pedigree who are trending towards disappointments often get more in return at this stage in their careers, when another team will still take a chance on potential rather than performance, than they do later. You're a draft watcher, I shouldn't have to point those players out to you. There are lots of examples.

The notion that there's nothing to lose by hanging onto Bennett is wrong. If this is all he's going to be, a 30 pt winger who takes bad penalties, then the Flames will absolutely get more back in a trade now than in another season or two. This team has to be shrewd and ruthless with asset management. A late 1st or equivalent prospect today is better than a 3rd rounder or equivalent prospect two years from now.

[CliffFletcher]

Originally Posted by dammage79

Daigle played close to 700 games. I think perception may have killed him being the First player taken by Ottawa ever. They also blew his development right out of the water. Not making excuses but he was bust then he came back as was a serviceable player for a few years. Can a bust label be rescinded?

Daigle's problem was he didn't want to be a professional hockey player. He flat out admitted that he did not enjoy the game and preferred acting.

[Flames Draft Watcher]

Originally Posted by CliffFletcher

I'm pointing out that players of Bennett's pedigree who are trending towards disappointments often get more in return at this stage in their careers, when another team will still take a chance on potential rather than performance than they do later. You're a draft watcher, I shouldn't have to point those players out to you. There are lots of examples.

The notion that there's nothing to lose by hanging onto Bennett is wrong. If this is all he's going to be, a 30 pt winger who takes bad penalties, then the Flames will absolutely get more back in a trade now than in another season or two. This team has to be shrewd and ruthless with asset management. A late 1st or equivalent prospect today is better than a 3rd rounder or equivalent prospect two years from now.

Sure. I suppose if you think he doesn't have much of a chance of being any better than he is now then dealing him now makes sense.

But a 1st is just a roll of the dice to get an impact NHLer. Personally I'd take my chances with Bennett over a mid-1st. I still believe he can develop into a good top two line player. Sometimes it just clicks for a player. Sometimes they take massive steps forward.

Bennett hasn't even turned 22 yet boys and girls. It's pretty unlikely he's peaked. It's pretty unlikely he can't improve and bounce back. I've seen too many players develop into something in their early 20's for me to write Bennett off at this point. I think he's a better bet to turn into an impact NHLer than what we can trade him for at this point. I could be wrong, just my opinion.