I am not sure if this thread has anything to do with Sam Bennett anymore, but I was looking at some of the Flames franchise best and worst, inspired from another thread.
I see Bennett is the 2nd worst +/- player in the history of the Flames franchise with a -46. The only Flame worse is Atlanta Flame Jacques Richard with a -59. Third worse is Chris Butler at -42. If Bennett hits his career average of -15, in 2018-19, he'll have the lowest +/- of any player in Flames history at -61.
I know some will say +/- is meaningless, but to have the second lowest number among all the players in 47 years is not very good.
I'm hoping he finds a way to become a plus player.
Yikes. Plus minus is not a great stat but a number that gross is a lagging indicator of something after a while.
Last edited by Strange Brew; 08-13-2018 at 11:31 PM.
Yikes. Plus minus is not a great stat but a number that gross is a lagging indicator of something after a while.
Yeah last season in isolation makes sense given is on ice shooting percentage. When he and everyone he's on the ice with for his minutes last year shoot under NHL replacement player you're going to have a terrible plus minus.
Bennett, Backlund and Frolik were 18th, 20th and 21st on the team in PDO last year which would really hurt all three players +/- (Backlund was last at -21, Frolik 2nd last at -19, Bennett -18). Backlund and Frolik had sub 90% save percentages when on the ice too.
Man the Flames had some strange stats last year.
Bottom line is Bennett has something to do with his lack of success, but last year alone was an odd year for he and a few others.
Yeah last season in isolation makes sense given is on ice shooting percentage. When he and everyone he's on the ice with for his minutes last year shoot under NHL replacement player you're going to have a terrible plus minus.
Bennett, Backlund and Frolik were 18th, 20th and 21st on the team in PDO last year which would really hurt all three players +/- (Backlund was last at -21, Frolik 2nd last at -19, Bennett -18). Backlund and Frolik had sub 90% save percentages when on the ice too.
Man the Flames had some strange stats last year.
Bottom line is Bennett has something to do with his lack of success, but last year alone was an odd year for he and a few others.
Guess I'm stating the obvious but there are a few guys on the team that need to prove last year was an aberration. Bennett, Frolik and Brodie tops among them.
At some point, prolonged low shooting percentages and save percentages when you are on the ice mean you're doing something wrong vs. unlucky.
If he struggles at centre, do you think Bergevin would trade Jonathan Drouin for Bennett and a pick?
I'd rather have Drouin over Bennett any day of the week but not sure how Flames could fit in his $5.5M cap hit. They'll be tight for cap space. I think upping Tkachuk and making sure the Flames have a legit starting goalie (upping Smith, Rittich/Gillies, trade for goalie etc) after next season are bigger priorities.
Cruikshank has a good article today on Bennett and his role now with the team. It's paywall so I won't quote too much.
Quote:
Whenever Mikael Backlund looked up from his stall in the Calgary Flames’ dressing room, he could see himself.
No, not in a mirror.
But directly across from him resided a player with an eerily similar history.
A highly touted forward nabbed in the first round of the NHL draft. A fellow whose opening years have been plagued by inconsistency; by a wide range of roles and expectations; by a turnstile of taskmasters; by growing disappointment, self-inflicted and otherwise.
There sat Sam Bennett.
Quote:
Conroy has had his own players tell him that no one hits harder than Bennett – and that’s just in practice. For the Flames, that rugged side of No. 93 is the key to unlocking his potential.
“When you see Sam at his best, it’s usually in the playoffs – that’s when he rises,” said Conroy. “As an organization, that’s what we’re hoping for on a nightly basis. I know it’s hard to play that way, with that edge, with that physicality (every regular season game). But if he can, it’s going to make him very effective and hard to play against. Because guys know when he’s out there – they’re looking over their shoulders. They’re not quite sure what he’s going to do.
Ahh playoff Bennett... reason enough to be patient with him. Hopefully we'll be back in the dance this season, he's always been great that time of year.
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In some ways there's less pressure on Bennett this season than ever. Now that we have other promising forwards, we don't really need Bennett to become a 1C or 2C. Maybe that'll help him? We have a new season, new potential linemates and a new coach. I'm ready to be optimistic again but I reserve the right to flip flop on the first bad offensive zone penalty with actual points on the line.
Bennett naturally plays an up tempo north south game which I think will compliment Peters new direction more so than the previous regime. Whether he can score consistently is another issue, but come playoffs I think he has the potential to be a major game changer with hits and timely goals.
