Don't you dare trade Sam Bennett.

[Jaydee]

Would he bite for 3.75mil x 8?

[Phagoof]

Bennett is not being traded. /Close thread.

[N-E-B]

I don’t think Bennett will be traded. He’s really grown this year as a player. I don’t think the Flames are shopping him, and I don’t want them to.

That said, if you can package him for a guy of Mark Stone’s caliber then I think you absolutely have to look at it. While I agree Bennett is a guy you don’t want to trade, he’s also not a guy who is untouchable. IMO Stone is a significant upgrade over Bennett. If the ask is something like Bennett and a 1st then I would be okay losing Bennett. You have to give to get, and giving up Bennett wouldn’t be insignificant.

Again, I don’t want them to trade Bennett. If they’re in on Stone I think and hope they’ll try to avoid losing him at all costs. I’m just saying if you’re going to trade the guy it better be for a legitimate superstar like Stone and not for draft picks so some other team can reclaim him.

[TheScorpion]

Maybe I'm crazy, but I'd sooner deal Kylington or Andersson than Bennett.

[Snuffleupagus]

Originally Posted by Jaydee

Would he bite for 3.75mil x 8?

Bennett would be an idiot to take that, if he's smart and full of confidence he'll do a 1 year deal for around 3.5m or ask for 3 X $4m.

[Sandman]

I've had my doubts about Benny over the past few years, but this year he seems to be getting it-he looks confident, is making plays, being aggressive without taking so many penalties. Under Gulutzan, the play was regularly dying on his stick. We're going to need him in the playoffs, and I think if we traded him away we would regret it in the future.

[Calgary4LIfe]

I still wouldn't write Bennett off as a WYSIWYG type right now. He is still young enough, and he has more than enough 'reasons or excuses' that one can say his development got a bit stalled thus far in his early career.



I think if we were to poll this community, I bet that a very high percentage of posters here would pick: "Bennett has taken a step this season" over "Bennett is no better than he was last season."


I really believe that until a player stops taking steps forward, at least more into their mid 20's, that is when the player is more or less a finished product. We have seen Lindholm take a GIANT leap forward this year. Ferland was a relatively late bloomer who had to overcome some personal issues. Bennett had his shoulder, his mom's cancer, Gulutzan's 'coaching' in which it seemed he lost all confidence in himself, a lack of skilled players to play with, and probably more stuff than we know.


I won't write him off as a 1st line/PPG player yet. I don't expect him to be one, but it would surprise me less if he became a PPG than a player who is more or less finished developing and this is 'it'. He took a step this year, maybe he takes another in the playoffs/next year... we simply don't exactly know at what point he plateaus.


Either way, the player that Bennett is today, is a player that helps the Flames win, IMO. How much help he provides the Flames over the years is the big question, but Bennett is a valuable player to Calgary today, and I suspect he will be even more valuable in the playoffs.

[The Cobra]

Originally Posted by Jaydee

Would he bite for 3.75mil x 8?

Zero chance of that.

Bennett has little risk of being unable to obtain an NHL job, so there is little reason for him to take the security of of a long term deal at a (relatively)low salary.

You only tend to see deals like this for players with zero upside.

I don't see Bennett betting against himself.

[Mitt31]

Originally Posted by The Cobra

Zero chance of that.

Bennett has little risk of being unable to obtain an NHL job, so there is little reason for him to take the security of of a long term deal at a (relatively)low salary.

You only tend to see deals like this for players with zero upside.

I don't see Bennett betting against himself.

Some players will take the money and run North to Edmonton, and others will see the benefits of a winning team for less.

I can picture Calgary as the NHL ‘s version of the Patriots over the next 15 years and they have been getting players to sign for less and buy into Team

Time will tell, but I think Bennett will be nice and comfy on this team fighting for cups rather then fighting for a playoff spot

[Lanny_McDonald]

Originally Posted by The Cobra

Zero chance of that.

Bennett has little risk of being unable to obtain an NHL job, so there is little reason for him to take the security of of a long term deal at a (relatively)low salary.

You only tend to see deals like this for players with zero upside.

I don't see Bennett betting against himself.

Which is exactly why you trade him. With the rest of the roster, you can't afford to make many mistakes in salary. Overpaying Bennett is no different than over paying Lance Bouma (past) or James Neal (current). The difference between those two players is a track record, which Bennett does not have. I agree that Bennett will be able to find a NHL job, but not for the dollars being floated. Bennett is a slightly worse version of Charlie Coyle, and the Wild were trying to dump that $3.2M salary for some time. The Flames need to be very careful with Bennett. If he wants to be paid for potential, you ship him out of town. He's way past that point in his career.

[Bingo]

Originally Posted by New Era

Which is exactly why you trade him. With the rest of the roster, you can't afford to make many mistakes in salary. Overpaying Bennett is no different than over paying Lance Bouma (past) or James Neal (current). The difference between those two players is a track record, which Bennett does not have. I agree that Bennett will be able to find a NHL job, but not for the dollars being floated. Bennett is a slightly worse version of Charlie Coyle, and the Wild were trying to dump that $3.2M salary for some time. The Flames need to be very careful with Bennett. If he wants to be paid for potential, you ship him out of town. He's way past that point in his career.

You don't have to keep him. You don't have to pay him.

But this isn't a potential issue.

Bennett is the 199th ranked ppg forward that has played a minimal of 40 games. Forward #199 made 2.9M this year. So that's the market.

I think Bennett is the $3M range with inflation is right where he's at. If he wants $3.5 you say no.

And he's 22 ... he's not way past potential unless he's trying to get paid as a 4th overall player.

[jonkaupp]

Originally Posted by Sandman

I've had my doubts about Benny over the past few years, but this year he seems to be getting it-he looks confident, is making plays, being aggressive without taking so many penalties. Under Gulutzan, the play was regularly dying on his stick. We're going to need him in the playoffs, and I think if we traded him away we would regret it in the future.

I highly doubt we’d regret it if it means Stone coming the other way. Like nearly zero chance.

[Bingo]

Originally Posted by jonkaupp

I highly doubt we’d regret it if it means Stone coming the other way. Like nearly zero chance.

I'd like to keep Bennett, but then I'd like to keep lots of the things being discussed. If the right trade comes along and Bennett's insertion means say you keep all three young defensemen and a 1st (not 2 1st going) you have to do it.

[Lanny_McDonald]

Originally Posted by Bingo

You don't have to keep him. You don't have to pay him.

But this isn't a potential issue.

Bennett is the 199th ranked ppg forward that has played a minimal of 40 games. Forward #199 made 2.9M this year. So that's the market.

I think Bennett is the $3M range with inflation is right where he's at. If he wants $3.5 you say no.

And he's 22 ... he's not way past potential unless he's trying to get paid as a 4th overall player.

We agree. Anything north of $3M is going to be an over-pay. Looking at his track record and performance, I would say $2.5-2.75M is the max I would pay, but I'm not a fan of paying guys a lot without showing consistency in their game. It would be interesting to know how negotiations go with the Bennett camp.

[Bingo]

Originally Posted by New Era

We agree. Anything north of $3M is going to be an over-pay. Looking at his track record and performance, I would say $2.5-2.75M is the max I would pay, but I'm not a fan of paying guys a lot without showing consistency in their game. It would be interesting to know how negotiations go with the Bennett camp.

I think it's 3m

You won't get him for 2.5-2.75, that would be a pretty poor effort from his agent.

[killer_carlson]

I predict 2 year deal at $4 Mill per coming from Edm as an offer sheet.

Only a 2nd round pick in comp

But we've talked about this in other threads

[GioforPM]

Originally Posted by Bingo

I think it's 3m

You won't get him for 2.5-2.75, that would be a pretty poor effort from his agent.

Yeah, and I doubt there's a lot of term because of the situation. Bennett probably feels like he (a) hasn't earned the big pay day yet but (b) he still might in the future. His contract progression might look a lot like Hayes.

[Loyal and True]

Thanks Tre!

[Hey Connor, It's Mess]

Originally Posted by Loyal and True

Thanks Tre!

No problem!

[Hockey-and_stuff]

Originally Posted by Loyal and True

Thanks Tre!

He didn't dare. You can rest easy now!