1) Bennett has played pretty poorly at center all year long, but it's been really bad in the last 4 games (all losses). He didn't put up a single point, had 3 shots on net over 4 games, and was a collective -5 (not one game was he even or on the positive side). He is struggling badly right now, and they need him to get some confidence in his game. Putting Bennett on the wing lessens his defensive responsibilities and allows him to be aggressive, where he's at his best.
Bennett has played well at center early on. Tkachuk-Bennett-Brouwer and Versteeg-Bennett-Brouwer were two of our better lines that were regularily winning their matchups, winning faceoffs, and checking well defensively with Bennett consistently helping his defensemen out. Bennett played well enough that just four games ago he was promoted to the Gaudreau line, but had to be matched up against the second-best two-way center on the planet in Kopitar. The whole team played badly that game, and Bennett was hardly the worst center in that one. Last three games? He's been without a competent left winger, and Brouwer has played just as poorly, maybe worse, than Bennett. I'll give you his play in the last few games has not been good, but I don't agree it's because of playing center. He's just been bad, in general. His mistakes are not positionally related.
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2) Bennett was much more effective at wing last year than at center. That doesn't mean he can't play center, but perhaps it needs to happen later on. Look at Galchenyuk in Montreal. IIRC, he only started playing center last season, his 4th in the NHL. It's ok if Bennett takes some time to develop at center since we have some veterans to fill in the gaps for now (Backlund, Stajan).
Bennett was more effective at wing last year? He was just awful at wing the minute he was taken off of the Backlund line. November/December/Early January, he was our least effective player - at LW. You're confusing playing with Backlund and playing at center. When Bennett plays LW, all he does is lead the rush and toedrag into no-mans land. He is much more cerebral at center.
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3) If Bennett moves forward as a winger, would that really be so terrible? Honestly, if he's a better player and contributes to the team in a more positive way on the wing, why do we care? It's not like he's the only guy to play center in his junior career, only to play wing in the NHL. It's not even a knock on him either. Perhaps his aggressive game is more suited to the wing anyways.
Yes, it would be terrible to have the only player on the roster capable of being a true #1C, be a winger. We would be back in the Iginla era Flames' situation with no #1C and a bunch of competent but regularily outmatched number twos. This whole rebuild will have been for naught. And meanwhile the Oilers have McDavid, Draisaitl, and Nugent-Hopkins down the middle, the Panthers have Barkov, the Sabres have Eichel, O'Rielly, Reinhart, and the Leafs have Matthews. All teams picking in the bottom six with us.
Is Bennett a #1C right now? No, but he's not going to develop into one playing the wing, and I have zero confidence either Backlund or Monahan develop into one. I would rather demote Bennett to the AHL than waste him at LW for the rest of the season. Hopefully this is just a temporary thing with Versteeg out.
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"May those who accept their fate find happiness. May those who defy it find glory."
Last edited by GranteedEV; 11-15-2016 at 04:26 PM.
I can see a new pairing of Bennett-Stajan being absolutely sustainable, with the last winger spot being interchangeable.
Not a chance. They need offensive production from Bennett. Definitely not a longterm solution putting him with a 4th line checker who got 6 goals last year.
Starting to get tired of this... but what the hell; it´s a normal "Game "day" for the Flames in Sweden again":
Tonight the game will start 3am Swedish time. So i will wake up 4.30. Head to the office at 4.45. Arrive att the office at 5. Make some coffee. Face-off, for me, will be approximately at 5.10. Around 7 it should be over and my colleagues will start to arrive. And they will ask the same old questions; Why are you doing this? Did they lose(...)again? Funny morning again?
And I will respond like I always do:
- I love the Flames. Btw - thank you very much for that, Håkan Loob!
- If I can´t support them during the hard times, what will my support be worth during the good times? Because good times will come. Right??
Something like that.
But tonight we will win. I can feel it!
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Yes, it would be terrible to have the only player on the roster capable of being a true #1C, be a winger. We would be back in the Iginla era Flames' situation with no #1C and a bunch of competent but regularily outmatched number twos. This whole rebuild will have been for naught. And meanwhile the Oilers have McDavid, Draisaitl, and Nugent-Hopkins down the middle, the Panthers have Barkov, the Sabres have Eichel, O'Rielly, Reinhart, and the Leafs have Matthews.
Is Bennett a #1C right now? No, but he's not going to develop into one playing the wing, and I have zero confidence either Backlund or Monahan develop into one.
Exactly. Just look at the #1 centre on any of the cup winners over the past 15 years. Bennett is the only guy they have with potential to be a true #1.
I'm guessing I'm leading with my chin on this one, but it's similar to what I've been saying for the last 2 weeks.
He's right!
As much as I am unhappy with the way things are going and I do blame the coaching staff. Now is not the time. Talk to me in Jan and I might be lobbying for a coaching change if we continue to spiral down.
I hold very little confidence in our coaching staff but I think more time is needed and just maybe this group of coaches can prove me wrong.
Starting to get tired of this... but what the hell; it´s a normal "Game "day" for the Flames in Sweden again":
Tonight the game will start 3am Swedish time. So i will wake up 4.30. Head to the office at 4.45. Arrive att the office at 5. Make some coffee. Face-off, for me, will be approximately at 5.10. Around 7 it should be over and my colleagues will start to arrive. And they will ask the same old questions; Why are you doing this? Did they lose(...)again? Funny morning again?
And I will respond like I always do:
- I love the Flames. Btw - thank you very much for that, Håkan Loob!
- If I can´t support them during the hard times, what will my support be worth during the good times? Because good times will come. Right??
Something like that.
But tonight we will win. I can feel it!
Dang dude that's dedication. I can barely even stay awake for those late games never mind waking up at 4:30 AM! Only time I would be that crazy is playoffs!
I'd like two things tonight... a Flames Win and a Dancing Fata in the PGT.. is that too much to ask?
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The @NHLFlames are the first team to feature four players each with 50+ points within their first 45 games of a season since the Penguins in 1995-96 (Ron Francis, Mario Lemieux, Jaromir Jagr, Tomas Sandstrom).
Fuzz - "He didn't speak to the media before the election, either."
Can't say he is incorrect with people wanting instant results. Unfortunately we didn't get them and the team is very likely to miss the playoffs with the lack of results at this point of the season though.
The only good reason for the Flames to replace the coach in the middle of this season is to avoid next year's slow start as players learn the new system. That is assuming that the Flames don't bring back Gulutzan next year.
That's more than enough reason for me to get on board with firing Gulutzan now.
It either
A) Lights a fire under the team and they catch lightning in a bottle and manage to at least compete for a few more months under whoever replaces him.
Or
B) it allows the new coach to make his stamp on the team for the remainder of the season so that there is no adjustment period required going into the start of next season, giving them a chance to hit the ground running if this season is a write off.
But of course Francis and everyone else that is giving this CAP spending team with a proven goalie tandem too much slack would prefer
C) Sticking with Gulutzan and his coaching staff under which the team has a worse power play, worse penalty kill, marginally better 5 on 5 but are lacking confidence, are fragile, get blown out regularly, top players have all struggled to play their game, have been scored on with every empty net, and have no defined team identity or direction, as confirmed by some of the players. And show no sign of turning it around in time to salvage the season. In fact no sign of even turning it around, period. All because they afraid of it being labeled a "knee jerk" decision. Big whoop. This is a results oriented business. Francis can go ahead and enjoy writing up defenses for Gulutzan while the team plays out 4 and a half months of meaningless hockey.
That ####er just says whatever goes against the grain of the fan base, whom aren't as uneducated as he may like to think.
...C) Sticking with Gulutzan and his coaching staff under which the team has a worse power play, worse penalty kill, marginally better 5 on 5 but are lacking confidence, are fragile, get blown out regularly, top players have all struggled to play their game, have been scored on with every empty net, and have no defined team identity or direction, as confirmed by some of the players. And show no sign of turning it around in time to salvage the season. In fact no sign of even turning it around, period. All because they afraid of it being labeled a "knee jerk" decision. Big whoop. This is a results oriented business. Francis can go ahead and enjoy writing up defenses for Gulutzan while the team plays out 4 and a half months of meaningless hockey...
I can't speak for everyone, but as far as I am concerned this is patently false. I don't believe anyone is "afraid" of the optics of this decision. If anything, changing the coaching staff after 16 games smacks of desperation and hysteria.
Quite to the contrary, the reason Francis, Bingo and others are admonishing this fanbase to exercise more patience is because reactive responses are not the same as measured and rational responses. Far be it from management to fall for the easy solution and fire the coaches in a fit of panic. They are focused on results beyond just the 2016–17 season, and must weigh carefully their decision against what is best for the team two, three, four years from now and beyond. Such decisions should never be made on a whim.
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