The Legend of Sam Bennett

[Aarongavey]

Originally Posted by dino7c

Do we really need to fight about this again?

Guy is awesome in the playoffs, that style is impossible to play in the regular season and survive. That is why he has a 49 point career high despite looking dominant at times.

He is a factor in preventing an Oilers cup, draft pick well spent

/

As someone who thought the trade was awful from day one I personally do not mind going down memory lane.

[EVERLAST]

Sam was recently criticized by his coach...can't find the clip and it was either Brunet or Quennville that said this....
Sam was trying to play playoff hockey in the regular season and this is why refs penalized him so much.
Your the only player out there going balls to the wall on pretty every shift being a wrecking ball....of course your gonna get noticed and not in a good way.

I don't think any coach sat him down and said hey....pick your spots with this

In the meantime backcheck without killing anyone and be sound positionally in the regular season and just be dependable and ice time and points will come.

So many coaches failed to do this. He gets a bad rap from day one for that and not being able to do 1 armed chins and he's doomed to fail.

I'm shocked the way some people talk he's even in the league today.

He's not the only player that was like that either here. I'd have to say starting with Q on to Brunnette then to Maurice subtle changes began....I think Sutter had to be the first to kind of see too.....but it was too late.

The guys a leader regardless. Different than say Tkachuk and man has he grown up too btw.....

Bothers me how players like this ended up this way....either by coaches or are training staff.

Players not groomed and mentored properly
Players that were allowed to play hurt
Players not given ice time and square pegged into round holes with short audition time.
Coaches with zero Imagination and blender mentalities.

It's no wonder we're the most mediocre team of bleh that I've cheered for for 30 plus years . ...and that's on me.

Hoist that sucker ....Sammy, Matt, Ryan....don't let Mullettown, Ron M and Kelly H get their Homer kool-aid drinking dreams of 1 victory.

[jayswin]

I remember Bennett's trials at top 6 centre, they were always hilarious. Everyone would pine for them for months and then coach would put him in for one game and one mistake later...gone.

[DazzlinDino]

Originally Posted by edslunch

There was the 'never given, always earned' mantra. I get it, but you also need to have a plan to develop a premium asset. You drafted the guy at the top end of the draft because you believe he's got serious potential. Give him a shot, let him make mistakes, show some patience. Groom him. His first year was that, but then they seemed to lose the plot on how to develop him. Maybe he didn't do himself any favours but they should have cut him more than his fair share of slack to help him grow as a player.

Special treatment? Sure, but a top 4 pick is a special asset.

The organization can't grow if it doesn't admit it has made some mistakes, Sam Bennett is playing well now for Florida, but not for the Calgary Flames. We got it wrong on this player, he was our top four pick and we messed it up. People keep trying to blame the player but look at Huberdeau, he was scoring all kinds of points for Florida, comes to Calgary and hasn't been able to do what made him one of the top players in the league.


Real question is why are players able to do in Florida what they can't do in Calgary? Maybe it's time we stop blaming the players and take a look at the organization and see if there's somethings with our approach. Huberdeau, at the end of the season talked about squeezing sticks and learning experience. How does that happen to a player that scored 115 points for Florida?

[ComixZone]

Originally Posted by jayswin

I remember Bennett's trials at top 6 centre, they were always hilarious. Everyone would pine for them for months and then coach would put him in for one game and one mistake later...gone.

I remember Gulutzan finally giving Bennett a shot, and he produced like 3 points in 4 games or something - and then the Flames picked up Chris Stewart on waivers, and Bennett immediately got launched to the 4th line.

The coaching and management in the Treliving era was pitiful.

[Firebot]

Sam Bennett's Flames tenure wrapped up in one story.

Bennett gets moved to the first line in place of an injured Michael Ferland in Feb 2018, proceeds to gel extremely well with Gaudreau and Monahan on the RW for 2 games. Both games Flames won and Bennett picks up 2 points.

https://www.reddit.com/r/hockey/comm...e_flames_on_a/

Chris Stewart...Chris ####ing Stewart gets picked up as a garbage waiver pick up by Brad Treliving, immediately gets put on the first line by our phenom coach Gulutzan and Bennett gets moved to the 3rd line. Flames lost the next 4 games.

Glen Gulutzan (and Brad Treliving for hiring him) completely destroyed Bennett and his own credibility on the never given, always earned motto that was prevalent by giving the first line to a waiver pick up.

Great to see Sam Bennett continue to shine and one game away from winning the cup. It wouldn't have happened with the Flames with our management and coaching choices.

[edslunch]

Originally Posted by Firebot

Sam Bennett's Flames tenure wrapped up in one story.

Bennett gets moved to the first line in place of an injured Michael Ferland in Feb 2018, proceeds to gel extremely well with Gaudreau and Monahan on the RW for 2 games. Both games Flames won and Bennett picks up 2 points.

https://www.reddit.com/r/hockey/comm...e_flames_on_a/

Chris Stewart...Chris ####ing Stewart gets picked up as a garbage waiver pick up by Brad Treliving, immediately gets put on the first line by our phenom coach Gulutzan and Bennett gets moved to the 3rd line. Flames lost the next 4 games.

Glen Gulutzan (and Brad Treliving for hiring him) completely destroyed Bennett and his own credibility on the never given, always earned motto that was prevalent by giving the first line to a waiver pick up.

Great to see Sam Bennett continue to shine and one game away from winning the cup. It wouldn't have happened with the Flames with our management and coaching choices.

[QUOTE]
Gulutzan should have been fired into the sun for his shiny tie alone

[Manhattanboy]

I want to see Bennett shake GG’s hand with a big grin.

[Jay Random]

Originally Posted by flamesgod

It’s ok, you were/are flat out wrong about Sam Bennett too. Don’t worry, it’s a big club.

Get back to me when he has a 50-point season.

[Jay Random]

Originally Posted by Aarongavey

No real hockey person gives a #### about counting stats.

Right. That's why Stanley Cup winners never bother having anybody on the roster who can score goals.

[Cali Panthers Fan]

Originally Posted by Jay Random

Right. That's why Stanley Cup winners never bother having anybody on the roster who can score goals.

Cool. Then I’ll just mention that Sam has 7 goals in 15 playoff games. Seems to be what you’re looking for if you want to win a cup.

[Jay Random]

Originally Posted by Cali Panthers Fan

Cool. Then I’ll just mention that Sam has 7 goals in 15 playoff games. Seems to be what you’re looking for if you want to win a cup.

I agree, he's a very good playoff performer. In the regular season, he can't play the style that makes him most effective.

He's best suited for a team that could just as easily make the playoffs without his help. A bubble team (which the Flames most often were during his time here) can't afford the luxury of having a second-line centre whose best plays put him in the penalty box.

But saying that people who know hockey don't care about counting stats? That's lunacy. I hope you're not defending that position.

[Manhattanboy]

Bennett is fricken awesome. Period.

[Cali Panthers Fan]

Originally Posted by Jay Random

I agree, he's a very good playoff performer. In the regular season, he can't play the style that makes him most effective.

He's best suited for a team that could just as easily make the playoffs without his help. A bubble team (which the Flames most often were during his time here) can't afford the luxury of having a second-line centre whose best plays put him in the penalty box.

But saying that people who know hockey don't care about counting stats? That's lunacy. I hope you're not defending that position.

My thought isn’t exactly that, but regular season point getters don’t typically have the same success in the playoffs, or they hit a wall in the level of competition at some point. Guys like Bennett score no matter what in the playoffs, and that’s worth a lot.

His comparable at the draft was Gilmour, and I’d say that it’s an apt comparison in some ways. He had another gear in the playoffs but also had the skill to do it in the regular season. Bennett is about half the player killer was in the regular season.

[EVERLAST]

I'd rather have a whole roster of Bennetts giving it all on every shift and not second guessing the effort and desire to win.

To those still unwilling to change their stance on that point alone go cheer for Edmonton then. They started with nothjng and have all of it left.
Rode hard and put away wet

[dammage79]

Oh man, Bennett staring down GlueGun in the handshake line might just be the cherry on top of this sundae

[Saqe]

Originally Posted by dammage79

Oh man, Bennett staring down GlueGun in the handshake line might just be the cherry on top of this sundae

[Badgers Nose]

I think a good coach could have found a way to help Benny find his regular season game/role. We were a playoff team when he was here, so it was stupid to trade him for nothing only to then go looking for post season grit at the TDL.

[dino7c]

Beat the Oilers, win the cup, then we can give him credit for beating the Oilers and winning the cup.

[CSharp]

Originally Posted by Badgers Nose

I think a good coach could have found a way to help Benny find his regular season game/role. We were a playoff team when he was here, so it was stupid to trade him for nothing only to then go looking for post season grit at the TDL.

Meh, whatever. The Flames in their 10-year prime from 2013 - 2023 were good without Bennett on the team and reached the 2nd round of the playoffs with the same notable players disappearing in that those 1st and 2nd round playoffs. If Bennett was so super special, maybe the Panthers have a one man Bennett team. There are 20+ guys also on that team that also make the team great. I think if the Flames built a team with Barkov, Ekblad, Montour, and a bunch of others they acquired or drafted, even with different coaches, the results may have been likely better in the Western Conference. I think it's really moot to single out one player as being a legend when he barely cracked the lineups only to pout and asked for a trade when things aren't going his way. The Flames bent over to accommodate him for his shoulder injury that he didn't even disclose and they accommodated him to try and fit him in the lineups. For one thing, if he's deemed only a playoff performer, doesn't it make sense to actually get the team there in the first place? Secondly, Flames are known to get bounced in the first round or early second round exits. So, why didn't Bennett and gang play like they're playing now? Yeah, he's playing hard at times but still makes the bonehead penalties like we all know he makes.

Yeah, we all had unlimited ceiling for him when he scored 4 goals against the Panthers in his first early season as a Flames. That was the height of his career as a Flames. If Bennett lived up to the expectations while he was a member of the Flames, I have no problem with him being labeled along with the greats in a Flames uniform. His tenure as a Flames was mediocre at best.