The Legend of Sam Bennett

[Johnny Makarov]

Originally Posted by FBI

I was pissed. So were a lot of people.

That doesn't sound like you were pissed.... lol

Quote:
Originally Posted by FBI View Post
I'm scared for this trade

transplant99
Because they are dealing a 3rd line winger who averages 28 pts a season and is on pace for 8 pts this year?

[FBI]

Scared because Bennett might make us regret it.. (narrator: he did)

[Badgers Nose]

Originally Posted by Goriders

Describes his stint in calgary pretty well

Huh? We had a first line centre. Before he was injured Monahan was as good a centre as we've ever had. Probably only Niewy got off to a faster start. It was 19/20 when he started to have issues. When Sean's stats tanked, so did Sam's.

Is this the Oilers message board or something? Money gets no respect here.

[Johnny Makarov]

Originally Posted by FBI

Scared because Bennett might make us regret it.. (narrator: he did)

I guess you don't know the difference between pissed and scared? hahaha

[Enoch Root]

Originally Posted by Johnny Makarov

I guess you don't know the difference between pissed and scared? hahaha

You're unable to see the connection between those two emotions?

[memphusk]

Sam Bennett. A legend looking to grow even bigger. What a beauty.

[Johnny Makarov]

Originally Posted by Enoch Root

You're unable to see the connection between those two emotions?

Where was the OUTRAGE when the trade was announced. It was pretty meh around here.

Sure we were all pissed when he turned it up a gear after he got to Florida.

[edslunch]

Originally Posted by Johnny Makarov

Where was the OUTRAGE when the trade was announced. It was pretty meh around here.

Sure we were all pissed when he turned it up a gear after he got to Florida.

There was a lot of disappointment that he didn’t work out and a fair amount of blame on the team, but I think the main feeling was that his ship had sailed.

[Ziggy Lidstrom]

I can go on record for my outrage around here when he was dealt. Horrible asset management throughout his tenure here. Kid was a warrior for us and we dealt him for peanuts. What a disgraceful regime that was. I wish him all the success he earns with his all or nothing approach.

This guy gonna get overpaid but what a playoff competitor.

[FanIn80]

Sam Bennett was a healthy scratch on March 6, 2021. It was the second straight game and third time in a 16-game stretch that then-coach Darryl Sutter decided the Calgary Flames were better off without the center in the lineup.

Today, it's mind-boggling to think that ever happened.

"What a difference," Florida Panthers coach Paul Maurice said.

Suffice to say healthy scratches are a thing of the past for the 28-year-old center. Bennett leads all players in the Stanley Cup Playoffs with 10 goals in 17 games, and has 45 points (22 goals, 23 assists) in 56 postseason games with the Panthers since 2023.

"I definitely struggled in Calgary for a while," Bennett said. "Once I got here (to Florida), just how the team embraced me, the opportunity the team gave me right from the beginning was totally different than what I was getting in Calgary. I took that opportunity and found some success early.

"He's always had the talent," said Florida forward Matthew Tkachuk, who played with Bennett in Calgary. "He's always had the work ethic. He's always had the bite, the jam, everything.

"I think a lot of it has to do with opportunity. I mean, he didn't get the opportunity in Calgary that he has here with the minutes and how he's utilized and everything. I don't know why that is, maybe it's a personnel thing, but he's just taken off as a whole new player here in Florida for everybody to see, even though in Calgary I saw it all along and us as players saw it all along. I was not happy when he got traded from Calgary, but I was also so happy to see him come here and have a chance and really flourish."

Maurice said, "I asked him what the difference was and he (said he) got back to center ice, which is an important position, he got back to playing the game he played when he came into the League, and he got to play with (forward) Jonathan Huberdeau. Confidence, right?"

Maurice was hired to coach the Panthers on June 22, 2022, and a month later Florida acquired Tkachuk from Calgary in what will forever be known as a franchise-changing trade, probably the most important transaction in team history, in fact.

Florida has reached the Cup Final in each of the three seasons since, and Bennett has earned perhaps the greatest compliment an NHL player can receive.

"The definition of a playoff player," Tkachuk said.

"Matthew's hands and his IQ and where he puts pucks and all those things lets Sam run a little bit," Maurice said. "I don't mean run around. I mean let's let him get his speed up. That was the thing that was missing before he got here. He got stuck on the wing and he couldn't carry his feet. He's a very fast player. It might be the underrated part of him is how quickly he can get up the ice."

Edit: I’ve quoted more than I typically feel comfortable doing, but it’s a long article with much more that I didn’t quote. It’s well worth clicking on the link below to read. There’s just so much insight into the very things we all talk about here almost daily (regarding Sam), so it was hard to stop quoting.

https://www.nhl.com/news/sam-bennett...t-with-florida

[powderjunkie]

Most people understood the trade was prompted by the looming expansion draft. Crazy to look back and see that the consensus was to protect Dubé over Sam, and that Backlund+Andersson are the only 2 remaining of the 11 guys protected

[Manhattanboy]

Originally Posted by powderjunkie

Most people understood the trade was prompted by the looming expansion draft. Crazy to look back and see that the consensus was to protect Dubé over Sam, and that Backlund+Andersson are the only 2 remaining of the 11 guys protected

How the people who made these decisions still have jobs is beyond me.

Pro sports is the only industry where people who make millions make huge mistakes which cost their employers millions then routinely get jobs with other teams that pay them even more millions.

[bizaro86]

Originally Posted by Manhattanboy

Pro sports is the only industry where people who make millions make huge mistakes which cost their employers millions then routinely get jobs with other teams that pay them even more millions.

I think that happens in all sorts of industries. Plenty of examples or CEOs failing up.

[flamesgod]

Originally Posted by FanIn80

Edit: I’ve quoted more than I typically feel comfortable doing, but it’s a long article with much more that I didn’t quote. It’s well worth clicking on the link below to read. There’s just so much insight into the very things we all talk about here almost daily (regarding Sam), so it was hard to stop quoting.

https://www.nhl.com/news/sam-bennett...t-with-florida

It was as obvious then as it is now. Just poor utilization.

[Locke]

I dont really have a dog in this fight, but, is it at all possible that Bennett just...got better with experience? Played with better players, different team, different conference, different style?

Just spitballing.

[DeluxeMoustache]

Originally Posted by FanIn80

Edit: I’ve quoted more than I typically feel comfortable doing, but it’s a long article with much more that I didn’t quote. It’s well worth clicking on the link below to read. There’s just so much insight into the very things we all talk about here almost daily (regarding Sam), so it was hard to stop quoting.

https://www.nhl.com/news/sam-bennett...t-with-florida

Thanks. Great article. Perfect fit for this thread


Embarrassing for the regime that missed the boat. Hilariously moved on to ruining Toronto

[DeluxeMoustache]

Originally Posted by Locke

I dont really have a dog in this fight, but, is it at all possible that Bennett just...got better with experience? Played with better players, different team, different conference, different style?

Just spitballing.

Certainly he has improved, when put in a position to do so

Little things in the article. Verhaeghe a regular line mate talks about him being predictable

Blenders and uncertainty aren’t how you develop top talent

[dino7c]

It has to be said he was available for MONTHS and not one NHL GM thought he would be worth a 1st, even a late one.

The entire league saw him as meh...two seconds was the high water offer. Not the opposite will happen when he is overpaid big time.

If he plays a big role in beating the Oilers twice though? Well worth it, not even kidding

[CliffFletcher]

Originally Posted by DeluxeMoustache

Thanks. Great article. Perfect fit for this thread


Embarrassing for the regime that missed the boat. Hilariously moved on to ruining Toronto

Only one member of that regime moved to Toronto. The rest - Edwards, Maloney, Conroy, Pascal - are still running the team. Dan Edwards and Marty Gelinas, who were in charge of player development during Bennett’s time with the club, are still here too.

[DeluxeMoustache]

Originally Posted by dino7c

It has to be said he was available for MONTHS and not one NHL GM thought he would be worth a 1st, even a late one.

The entire league saw him as meh...two seconds was the high water offer. Not the opposite will happen when he is overpaid big time.

If he plays a big role in beating the Oilers twice though? Well worth it, not even kidding

Yeah, we all know what he got traded for. And the point has always been that it doesn’t look good on the Flames, they failed to develop their highest ever pick

We agree that him being a key player and beating the Oilers is worth it, even for last year alone.