The Legend of Sam Bennett

[Northendzone]

i'd also assume that bennett was a disgruntled employee who likely was not giving it is all here in calgary. and given florida is in the playoff hunt, i'd assume coming to the rink is fun.

he played what 400g here in calgary we will see where he is when he has played 400 games for teams other than calgary

[Aeneas]

Bennett was likely my favourite Flame of this bunch.
Happy to see him do well.
Ferland, Brodie, now Bennett.

I will place the curse of my favourite on Lucic now.
Means he will be a Kraken I guess.

[Robbob]

Good for Bennett. I think the one thing that always hurt him was his confidence and his expectations for himself on his draft position. He is removed from the "highest Flames pick ever" and can just play his game. I expect him to slow down a bit as he goes along. But he looks like a weight has been lifted off his shoulders.

[ComixZone]

Originally Posted by AustinL_NHL

Sam Bennett has as many 5v5 points (11) in his last 9 games as:

- Monahan in his last 34 games.
- Tkachuk in his last 34 games.
- Gaudreau in his last 36 games.

In fact, Bennett has more 5v5 points (17) total this season than all 3 of them.

Lmao.

This organization...

Your "stars" crumble year after year after year in the playoffs. They fade down the stretch, but they never try anything different. The guy who is your best player year after year after year in the playoffs is pushed down the line-up in favour of these "stars"...

You hire dud coach after dud coach after dud coach that just keep the status quo, despite the constant failure...What do you get? Exactly what we've got.

[mrdonkey]

Originally Posted by ComixZone

This organization...

Your "stars" crumble year after year after year in the playoffs. They fade down the stretch, but they never try anything different. The guy who is your best player year after year after year in the playoffs is pushed down the line-up in favour of these "stars"...

You hire dud coach after dud coach after dud coach that just keep the status quo, despite the constantly failure...What do you get? Exactly what we've got.

Can't wait until it happens to Gaudreau, Monahan, and Tkachuk too. Traded for pennies on the dollar (not that this was the case for Bennett, but the returns on our core are going to shock some people) before going on to become stars again as secondary players on good teams.

This team is just a straight up dumpster fire right now that no one should want any part of.

[bobbylouie]

I don't really have much to add, I just wanted to make this (any) thread bump ahead of the week old game day vs. Montreal thread that for about 10 minutes had me thinking I was hallucinating like it was 1968 again.

[The Cobra]

Did you know that Lucic has 1 less 5v5 point this year than each of Johnny, Monny and Tkachuk. And for less cap too.


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[Classic_Sniper]

Originally Posted by The Cobra

Did you know that Lucic has 1 less 5v5 point this year than each of Johnny, Monny and Tkachuk. And for less cap too.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

What does Lucic have to do with Sam Bennett? I think I know what you're trying to get at though, I mean I've been a fan of the Lucic trade basically from the start. He's been great here from day 1.

But with that said, he's also a -9 in 45 games this season which sits 3rd worst on the team. He's been on the ice for too many goals against this season and some of them have been a direct result of a boneheaded play he made. So, as productive as he's been this season, he hasn't helped out as much in the goal differential category which ultimately decides whether you or you lose especially in a shorten season.

To be fair though, he does see harder matchups being on Backlund's line and he certainly is much lower on the team's overall list of problems. But if we're comparing stats, then yes, his poor plus/minus is definitely a factor in this conversation.

[tvp2003]

Some really interesting comments and insight from Versteeg about Bennett on 960 this morning:

- great start, but be ready for the roller coaster; if you take your foot of the gas Q will bench you
- everyone knows his calling card; Sam needs to continue playing that way (which is hard to do)
- isn't a natural centre; not skilled enough to play a skill game
- coach can't give him a choice -- tell him what he has to do and hold him to it (cough - Ward)
- very valuable when he's driven; versatile (can play up and down the lineup)

https://www.sportsnet.ca/960/boomer-...flames-season/ (first 10 minutes or so are about Sam)

[CalgaryFan1988]

Every player is a roller coaster, just some highs are higher than others and some lows are lower. I don't think anyone expects Bennett to continue on this pace, but I'm happy for him.

[powderjunkie]

Originally Posted by Cali Panthers Fan

Wow, me too!

I have to warn you now, you thought being a Flames fan came with crippling sadness and disappointment? You don't know pain until you've been a Panthers fan for a while.

Let's hope the franchise is finally turning the corner.

Originally Posted by tvp2003

Some really interesting comments and insight from Versteeg about Bennett on 960 this morning:

- great start, but be ready for the roller coaster; if you take your foot of the gas Q will bench you
- everyone knows his calling card; Sam needs to continue playing that way (which is hard to do)
- isn't a natural centre; not skilled enough to play a skill game
- coach can't give him a choice -- tell him what he has to do and hold him to it (cough - Ward)
- very valuable when he's driven; versatile (can play up and down the lineup)

https://www.sportsnet.ca/960/boomer-...flames-season/ (first 10 minutes or so are about Sam)

I find the bolded interesting. He's above replacement level wherever you put him, but I think treating him like a swiss-army-knife has been a big part of the problem. With knocks like: poor IQ, poor skills, low confidence, I'm not sure giving a guy 5 different roles every 3 games was a recipe for success.

Versteeg was a swiss-army-knife, so maybe he knows better.

[djsFlames]

I miss good utility forwards like Versteeg, Stempniak and Glencross, who were always reliable to contribute offense every other game while playing anywhere in your lineup.

Gaudreau and Monahan are hard pressed to even do that these days, and they have to be put in favorable situations to produce.

[DazzlinDino]

Originally Posted by Classic_Sniper

Bennett with a couple more goals I see. Impressive chemistry his line has built. Huberdeau is probably the central piece to the line and draws most of the attention, but Duclair has some impressive puck skills and dynamic aspects to his game. Bennett probably works out perfectly for these 2 because he can play with the jam that the other 2 might shy away from. Getting nasty along boards and in the corners, cleaning up in the front of the net. Good for him.

Still early and their pace is unlikely to sustain indefinitely, but it’ll be interesting to see how he and his line work out in the playoffs where he plays with more edge. Their rush chances will probably decline, so I wonder if they’ll produce the same amount on the cycle.

Regardless, I’m still not upset with the return. Treliving did good work getting essentially getting 2 seconds as Sam was never going to work out here. This team doesn’t have enough dynamic players on one line where they can turn something into nothing, putting Bennett in very high opportunistic situations.

Just looking at the 3 goals Bennett has scored for Florida so far, Huberdeau and Duclair make a lot of nice plays/passes off the rush and with Sam skating hard to the net, he’s found himself alone in front of the net quite a few times. What line on the Flames could replicate what Florida is doing? Gaudreau-Bennett-Tkachuk maybe? Don’t think Tkachuk has the same wheels Duclair does though and Gaudreau definitely doesn’t have Huberdeau’s size and with that line, you’d be moving Lindholm, Monahan and Backlund down another slot unless you move another one to wing. So yeah, it was never happening for Sam Bennett here.

That is concerning, especially when it looks like we had the wrong pieces! Neal and Brouwer certainly were not the answer! To think that maybe all Bennett needed was the right tools and the right opportunity. The Flames could not provide that because as it stands we seem to be a poorly constructed team. We still need more pieces.

That said, maybe the organization doesn't have a good blueprint?

[N-E-B]

Remember when James Neal went to Edmonton and scored like 8 goals in his first 6 games or something?

Let’s give it a bit more time before declaring that the Flames just traded a superstar. Bennett wasn’t a good fit here and it’s very possible he settles back into the same player he’s been his whole career.

[DeluxeMoustache]

Originally Posted by N-E-B

Remember when James Neal went to Edmonton and scored like 8 goals in his first 6 games or something?

Let’s give it a bit more time before declaring that the Flames just traded a superstar. Bennett wasn’t a good fit here and it’s very possible he settles back into the same player he’s been his whole career.

So you do realize that there is a difference between Sam Bennett and James Neal, right? Neal was played with good centres - Modano, Richards, Malkin and deployed on the PP. He was always an opportunist and when it came to him having to contribute without an all star doing the heavy lifting, he is what you saw here

The whole series of observations with respect to how Sam was used for years, bottom 6 blender, linemates, stability / opportunity is playing out, largely as many people suspected it may

Will he keep scoring at 1.7 point per game pace? Foolish to think so

Can he do better than he did here? Sure seems like a safe bet is just being observed playing out

[GranteedEV]

Originally Posted by N-E-B

Let’s give it a bit more time before declaring that the Flames just traded a superstar.

Who declared that?

I don't think it's out-of-line to think that maybe they traded a player comparable to a guy like Kyle Turris (also a top 4 pick center that Treliving and Maloney ended up trading), though.

[CsInMyBlood]

Originally Posted by DeluxeMoustache

So you do realize that there is a difference between Sam Bennett and James Neal, right? Neal was played with good centres - Modano, Richards, Malkin and deployed on the PP. He was always an opportunist and when it came to him having to contribute without an all star doing the heavy lifting, he is what you saw here

The whole series of observations with respect to how Sam was used for years, bottom 6 blender, linemates, stability / opportunity is playing out, largely as many people suspected it may

Will he keep scoring at 1.7 point per game pace? Foolish to think so

Can he do better than he did here? Sure seems like a safe bet is just being observed playing out

I bet he will score at a 2.1 pace for the rest of his career. It was obviously bad coaching and bad teammates for Sam Bennett as a Calgary Flame. It was never the play of Sam Bennett. Everything was against him. Everyone was against him.

I saw him score 4 goals in ONE game. It was the best. Then they all chained him down and wrecked him!

Go Sam Go! Show them what you all about when you're not being suppressed by the man.

[DeluxeMoustache]

Originally Posted by CsInMyBlood

I bet he will score at a 2.1 pace for the rest of his career. It was obviously bad coaching and bad teammates for Sam Bennett as a Calgary Flame. It was never the play of Sam Bennett. Everything was against him. Everyone was against him.

I saw him score 4 goals in ONE game. It was the best. Then they all chained him down and wrecked him!

Go Sam Go! Show them what you all about when you're not being suppressed by the man.

lol

Ok, then, if you want to do it this way...

Look at the Flames and tell me they have been well managed

Tell me how they are getting the absolute best out of Gaudreau, Monahan, Tkachuk, etc.

They are ####ing awesome, eh?

Uh huh

[1qqaaz]

Double Post

[1qqaaz]

Originally Posted by djsFlames

I miss good utility forwards like Versteeg, Stempniak and Glencross, who were always reliable to contribute offense every other game while playing anywhere in your lineup.

Gaudreau and Monahan are hard pressed to even do that these days, and they have to be put in favorable situations to produce.

These are the types of free agency signings that I would prefer. I know Stempniak was acquired via trade, but he was a solid free agent signing for other teams.

They actually contribute offensively, but they don't cost a ton.
This is the kind of depth that actually leads to consistency. They can have trade value as rentals if worst comes to worst.