[Game Takes] Flames 2 Senators 1

[Bingo]

Flames 2 Sens 1

- 5 points on the trip
- Bottom half of the roster carries the day
- Rittich solid

[Samonadreau]

I could see Bennett being the type of player that flourishes in the playoffs. As the games get bigger he elevates his game.

[Dion]

http://flames.ice.nhl.com/club/galle...n=/photos&pg=1

[ricardodw]

Huge win(s) against teams that the Flames were supposed to beat.

Seems this team might need a better psychologist than coach. Top 3-4 team in the league on the road and tied for 5th fewest wins at home.

Maybe at home let the other team have the last line change.

As a road Coach GG is getting these guys to the level of Tampa and Nashville and should be a Jack Adams contender. At home he needs to be fired immediately.


A couple of seasons Gaudreau and Monahan were total homer players and mediocre on the road. This year they score more than at home and are +15 and +16. At home -5 , -6.

Looking at the home split most of the team is minus.

[Yrebmi]

Well then if we do get into the playoffs at least we won't have home ice disadvantage.

[Textcritic]

Originally Posted by Samonadreau

I could see Bennett being the type of player that flourishes in the playoffs. As the games get bigger he elevates his game.

He kind of already is. Among all current forwards in Calgary, the only two who have more playoff points than Bennett in the last two Flames post-seasons are Gaudreau and Monahan.

[Samonadreau]

Originally Posted by Textcritic

He kind of already is. Among all current forwards in Calgary, the only two forwards who have more playoff points than Bennett in the last two Flames post-seasons are Gaudreau and Monahan.

I could see it continuing too. A .5ppg player in the reg season and a near ppg in the playoffs moving forward.

The reg season production will be a bit disappointing but the playoff production will make up for it.

[Bingo]

I think the goal posts on Sam Bennett have moved, and that's fine.

Those that call him a bust are silly as he's already an above average third line player with some sand paper in his game ... so the floor has moved from bust to a pretty decent NHL career in a support role.

Additionally the ceiling has moved, or at least it should have given his arrival delay to the heights expected when he was drafted.

He may be a middle six guy now, and there's nothing wrong with that.

[transplant99]

Originally Posted by Bingo

He may be a middle six guy now, and there's nothing wrong with that.

I don't know if that's the case at all. Highest draft pick on team history surely should be expected to be more than a 3rd liner....no?

I think it's safe to assume the C experiment is over, so that leaves him as a #5 type winger.

If that's the ceiling ..simply not good enough. Though I suppose there us still room for improvement and becoming at least a guy that can be relied on in certain situations.

[Enoch Root]

Originally Posted by transplant99

I don't know if that's the case at all. Highest draft pick on team history surely should be expected to be more than a 3rd liner....no?

I think it's safe to assume the C experiment is over, so that leaves him as a #5 type winger.

If that's the ceiling ..simply not good enough. Though I suppose there us still room for improvement and becoming at least a guy that can be relied on in certain situations.

What a bizarre post.

First of all, middle 6 does not mean 3rd liner.

Second, how is the experiment over? He's 21.

And third, how is it not good enough? Sure, we all hoped for a #1 C, but if he is an NHL player, he is an NHL player.

Because he didn't meet your expectations he should be run out of town and never play for the Flames again?

[Bingo]

Originally Posted by transplant99

I don't know if that's the case at all. Highest draft pick on team history surely should be expected to be more than a 3rd liner....no?

I think it's safe to assume the C experiment is over, so that leaves him as a #5 type winger.

If that's the ceiling ..simply not good enough. Though I suppose there us still room for improvement and becoming at least a guy that can be relied on in certain situations.

I honestly don't know what part of my post you're debating ...

He's an asset that is an NHL player, not a bust ... that's clear as day.
Less clear is his upside, but I'm willing to admit that the elite top line player chances are fading.

You don't agree with that?

[GranteedEV]

Originally Posted by transplant99

I think it's safe to assume the C experiment is over, so that leaves him as a #5 type winger.
.

This is a portion of the fanbase projecting their misguided observations. The organization has not abandoned Bennett as a center, it has simply avoided Jankowski as a winger. Gulutzan pointed out that Bennett's weak play early on was not due to positional responsibilities but simply being "off" in a small sample size. Treliving pointed to Bennett as a center at the most recent trade deadline media address. When Jankowski was scratched, Bennett returned to 3C. When Monahan was injured or sick, Bennett leapfrogged Jankowski as placeholder 1C.

The organization is cognizant of its atrocious winger depth and feels comfortable playing Bennett in a depth role because they are comfortable with his versatility. But nothing they have said suggests that they have abandoned Bennett at center. Nor should they.

[transplant99]

Originally Posted by Bingo

I honestly don't know what part of my post you're debating ...

He's an asset that is an NHL player, not a bust ... that's clear as day.
Less clear is his upside, but I'm willing to admit that the elite top line player chances are fading.

You don't agree with that?

This part..

He may be a middle six guy now, and there's nothing wrong with that.

I believe the highest pick in team history plateauing at best as a 2nd line winger, is indeed worse than "nothing wrong". Personally I would have expected a top line player at that point...not sure that is an unreasonable position.

Where did I suggest he was a bust? He is an NHL player to some degree, and admittedly it still may be higher than what has shown thus far. It's far less likely now than it was even a season ago though.

I mean we have all watched him closely for 3 years now and I truly don't see anymore upside. His issues aren't the physical or skills part of the game, they are entirely mental. He has shown a lot more "try" of late, and that's good because it wasnt there for much of the last couple years.

[Roof-Daddy]

I hoped Bennett would be at least as good of a center as Monahan, so if he ends up a middle six winger I will definitely be disappointed and it looks like that could very well be what happens.

[bigrangy]

Bennett is as good of a hockey player as Monahan. One plays with Gaudreau and the other one plays with AHLers (sorry Janko but you're really not that great, yet)

Bennett does suck eggs on the Powerplay though, and that I can't quite explain.

[transplant99]

Originally Posted by Enoch Root

What a bizarre post.

First of all, middle 6 does not mean 3rd liner.

Second, how is the experiment over? He's 21.

And third, how is it not good enough? Sure, we all hoped for a #1 C, but if he is an NHL player, he is an NHL player.

Because he didn't meet your expectations he should be run out of town and never play for the Flames again?

I swear to god...you read what you want to read, get enraged, then address a bunch of stuff that was never said.

LOL.

[Bingo]

Originally Posted by transplant99

This part..



I believe the highest pick in team history plateauing at best as a 2nd line winger, is indeed worse than "nothing wrong". Personally I would have expected a top line player at that point...not sure that is an unreasonable position.

Where did I suggest he was a bust? He is an NHL player to some degree, and admittedly it still may be higher than what has shown thus far. It's far less likely now than it was even a season ago though.

I mean we have all watched him closely for 3 years now and I truly don't see anymore upside. His issues aren't the physical or skills part of the game, they are entirely mental. He has shown a lot more "try" of late, and that's good because it wasnt there for much of the last couple years.

The asset is what it is though.

Just like Gaudreau as a 4th round pick is well above his mark, and hopefully Parsons, Fox, Dube and Andersson prove they're above 2nd round pedigree, your going to get a first rounder that isn't a first round result/

But he's a player, so bust is unfair.

He has use, and he should get better.

I'm just snipping his ceiling a bit.

[transplant99]

Originally Posted by Bingo

The asset is what it is though.

Just like Gaudreau as a 4th round pick is well above his mark, and hopefully Parsons, Fox, Dube and Andersson prove they're above 2nd round pedigree, your going to get a first rounder that isn't a first round result/

But he's a player, so bust is unfair.

He has use, and he should get better.

I'm just snipping his ceiling a bit.

But I never claimed that.

I was just taking issue with the "nothing wrong" part of how he looks to be trending. I don't think its good enough for where he was drafted...thats all.

I hope like hell he gets better, it would certainly help the club out on so many levels.At this point, its all on him though. He needs to find that inner fortitude and be nasty to play against. We have seen glimpses but more often than not...just invisible.

[GranteedEV]

Originally Posted by bigrangy

Bennett is as good of a hockey player as Monahan. One plays with Gaudreau and the other one plays with AHLers (sorry Janko but you're really not that great, yet)

Bennett does suck eggs on the Powerplay though, and that I can't quite explain.

Bennett had 8 PPP in his rookie year.
He has 7 PPP since then.

It's Gulutzan's PP usage.

[ComixZone]

Originally Posted by transplant99

I don't know if that's the case at all. Highest draft pick on team history surely should be expected to be more than a 3rd liner....no?

I think it's safe to assume the C experiment is over, so that leaves him as a #5 type winger.

If that's the ceiling ..simply not good enough. Though I suppose there us still room for improvement and becoming at least a guy that can be relied on in certain situations.

“Highest draft pick on (in?) team history”

What a junk point to make, and nothing but silly fandom. The 4th overall pick is not a homerun pick in any draft year. The fact we haven’t drafted higher than 4th in team history has nothing to do with what we should or shouldn’t expect from Bennett.

Also, a fan’s inability to understand circumstance in player development does not mean a player is struggling. It’s a fan’s point of view, and it holds little merit.