Sam Bennett - most needed change of scenery ever or hot streak?

[FinlandPanther]

Flames fans are so salty in this thread. Just admit that Bennett is actually good and was completely mismanaged in Calgary

For real some of the posters are wild in here. This is a classic case of change of scenery. It happens. We hate Trocheck on the Panther’s board now but we also know if he was on our team the results would very likely not be the same as in Carolina.

 

[Mergatroidskittle]

How exactly did someone who wasn't even on the ice in a 4-4 game with 70 seconds, when a breakaway occurred to score a GWG was allowed, cost his team the game?

At best you can say that Bennett's net contribution (Two key defensive plays directly leading to two goals for, and two penalties directly leading to two goals against) were a net zero (although that would ignore the fact that a 1/4 penalty kill is inexcusable from any team)

Hope you stretched before that reach... classic delusion flames fan...

 

[WhiskeyYerTheDevils]

Another goal tonight while leading all panthers forwards in ice time. He was excellent tonight, Florida is a completely different team with him in the lineup.

Amazing that a team as bad as Calgary couldn't find a spot for this guy as a top 6 center.

 

[WaitingForThatCab]

Florida is a completely different team with him in the lineup.

Everything else aside, this is true. With Barkov injured, he's going to have to do a lot of heavy lifting together with Hubie and Tippett.

 

[Perfect_Drug]

Soo.. has Sam Bennett been playing like "playoff" Sam Bennett the moment he stepped into Florida or something?

How did the entire league sleep on this guy?

 

[CamPopplestone]

Hope you stretched before that reach... classic delusion flames fan...

He's like that. He's always proclaimed that Bennett is a top tier center in the league, Kulak has top 2 D potential and it at least an amazing top 4 D, Kylington is a top pair D. Oh and less we forget when Jakub Nakladl was a top 4 D

 

[WhiskeyYerTheDevils]

Soo.. has Sam Bennett been playing like "playoff" Sam Bennett the moment he stepped into Florida or something?

How did the entire league sleep on this guy?

Idk. Anyone following Calgary should have seen this coming. But surprisingly few did, which I don't understand.

I'd have to chalk it up to people allowing raw statistics to cloud their judgement, and not fully understanding why his production was so poor (hint: he's awful on the wing and was given trash linemates and almost no PP time).

But if you've watched him for the last 6 years and consider yourself even decent at player evaluations, there is really no excuse for being surprised by this. Everyone should have seen this coming.

 

[OvermanKingGainer]

Idk. Anyone following Calgary should have seen this coming. But surprisingly few did, which I don't understand.

I'd have to chalk it up to people allowing raw statistics to cloud their judgement, and not fully understanding why his production was so poor (hint: he's awful on the wing and was given trash linemates and almost no PP time).

But if you've watched him for the last 6 years and consider yourself even decent at player evaluations, there is really no excuse for being surprised by this. Everyone should have seen this coming.

The funniest is that one guy, I think you and I both know who, who insists Bennett is terrible as a center because he can't defend.

 

[Perfect_Drug]

Idk. Anyone following Calgary should have seen this coming. But surprisingly few did, which I don't understand.

I'd have to chalk it up to people allowing raw statistics to cloud their judgement, and not fully understanding why his production was so poor (hint: he's awful on the wing and was given trash linemates and almost no PP time).

But if you've watched him for the last 6 years and consider yourself even decent at player evaluations, there is really no excuse for being surprised by this. Everyone should have seen this coming.

I saw plenty of Sam Bennett. Never thought he could consistently bring this effort.

But then again...

I saw how being stapled to Lucic sandbagged both Jesse Puljujaarvi, and Ryan Strome. God I wish we still had Strome, and So glad we didn't let Jesse get away.

 

[WhiskeyYerTheDevils]

I saw plenty of Sam Bennett. Never thought he could consistently bring this effort.

But then again...

I saw how being stapled to Lucic sandbagged both Jesse Puljujaarvi, and Ryan Strome. God I wish we still had Strome, and So glad we didn't let Jesse get away.

Yeah I've been saying Bennett should be centering Gaudreau for the past 5 years. Was plain as day. There are some really good hockey players that can't carry garbage linemates. Doesn't mean they aren't still very good players.

 

[Samsquanch]

Man this feels so much like Kyle Turris all over again, except this time Bennett is even better player - and Calgary got even less of a return than the Yotes did (Rundblad was still a star prospect at the time at least).

If I were Calgary's owner, this would be the green light I need to go ahead and clean house entirely. How insane/incompetent do you have to be to first identify and draft a player with an ultra valuable pick. Then proceed to nearly ruin him, trade him for scraps (comparatively), and watch him immediately go on to produce and play at the level of a star player...

Like this is no Zibanejad that took another 2 or 3 seasons to emerging as a star player after being traded. Bennett literally was ready to be a top 6 center the second he was put in the right spot. And quite obviously they didnt hold out for a better trade (because they knew what they had and he just didnt jive for whatever reason). They were ready to move on from a player that they were convinced wasn't ever going to be good enough to be a top 6 player for them.

The only possible conclusion you can draw is that they have no freaking clue what they're doing. Period. This is a player that should have been given an extremely long leash by the flames, and every opportunity in the world to blossom. This was the player they should have spent a lot of resources on trying to help him get to where they needed to be. It was a 4OV pick, he didnt come out of left field....I'd think most teams would like to be damn sure hes a lost cause before squandering that kind of asset so carelessly...

 

[HockeyWooot]

Playoff Bennett is a beaut.

 

[SwedishFire]

Man this feels so much like Kyle Turris all over again, except this time Bennett is even better player - and Calgary got even less of a return than the Yotes did (Rundblad was still a star prospect at the time at least).

If I were Calgary's owner, this would be the green light I need to go ahead and clean house entirely. How insane/incompetent do you have to be to first identify and draft a player with an ultra valuable pick. Then proceed to nearly ruin him, trade him for scraps (comparatively), and watch him immediately go on to produce and play at the level of a star player...

Like this is no Zibanejad that took another 2 or 3 seasons to emerging as a star player after being traded. Bennett literally was ready to be a top 6 center the second he was put in the right spot. And quite obviously they didnt hold out for a better trade (because they knew what they had and he just didnt jive for whatever reason). They were ready to move on from a player that they were convinced wasn't ever going to be good enough to be a top 6 player for them.

The only possible conclusion you can draw is that they have no freaking clue what they're doing. Period. This is a player that should have been given an extremely long leash by the flames, and every opportunity in the world to blossom. This was the player they should have spent a lot of resources on trying to help him get to where they needed to be. It was a 4OV pick, he didnt come out of left field....I'd think most teams would like to be damn sure hes a lost cause before squandering that kind of asset so carelessly...

Hold tour horses though.
I think playing alongside Barkov or Huberdeau really helps. Better than Monahan. Also less pressure in Florida. Lets see how it unfolds even firther

 

[treple13]

Flames fans are so salty in this thread. Just admit that Bennett is actually good and was completely mismanaged in Calgary

It's really funny that everyone other than Flames fans were calling us delusional a month ago when we said he still had value and pointed out the things he was good at and now we're salty when we point out the things he isn't good at.

Honestly I'd love it if Bennett turned into a regular top 2 line player in Florida, but he's has stretches like this in Calgary too hence "playoff Sam Bennett". Give it a full season in Florida before we start making these kind of statements

 

[WhiskeyYerTheDevils]

It's really funny that everyone other than Flames fans were calling us delusional a month ago when we said he still had value and pointed out the things he was good at and now we're salty when we point out the things he isn't good at.

Honestly I'd love it if Bennett turned into a regular top 2 line player in Florida, but he's has stretches like this in Calgary too hence "playoff Sam Bennett". Give it a full season in Florida before we start making these kind of statements

How many times did he score 18 points in 12 games in Calgary while playing in all situations?

 

[OvermanKingGainer]

Hold tour horses though.
I think playing alongside Barkov or Huberdeau really helps. Better than Monahan. Also less pressure in Florida. Lets see how it unfolds even firther

He doesn't play alongside Barkov at ES. Which is where the vast majority of his production has come.

Playing alongside Huberdeau doesn't help any more than centering Gaudreau, Tkachuk, Mangiapane, or Lindholm would have. It just literally never happened.

Know who else is better than Monahan? Sam Bennett.

And the idea that there was pressure on him in Calgary is a joke. He was a fan favourite even through some of the least productive years of any 4th overall's career, and not once did the MSM print a "Bennett is a bust" type piece. The only difference in pressure is that he always saw himself as a top two line center who should be playing in all situations and could never seem to get that opportunity, hence frustration with his role. He's Calgary's leading ES Playoff Point producer dating back to the 2015 season... not exactly a guy who crumbles under pressure.

 

[McShogun99]

Ryan Strome and JP play with Lucic and produce nothing. Bennett plays with Lucic and a rotation of bottom six players and produces nothing.

Pretty amazing that when you put a high draft pick in the top 6 with players that can produce while letting him play his natural position that he actually produces.

 

[DuklaNation]

Soo.. has Sam Bennett been playing like "playoff" Sam Bennett the moment he stepped into Florida or something?

How did the entire league sleep on this guy?

Most of the comments are just people with their own biases or just looking at stats. The eye test is much better.

 

[blankall]

It's really funny that everyone other than Flames fans were calling us delusional a month ago when we said he still had value and pointed out the things he was good at and now we're salty when we point out the things he isn't good at.

Honestly I'd love it if Bennett turned into a regular top 2 line player in Florida, but he's has stretches like this in Calgary too hence "playoff Sam Bennett". Give it a full season in Florida before we start making these kind of statements

Bennett compliments Huberdeau very well. Bennett's play style obviously works well with Huberdeau's drive the net style. So I see Florida sticking with that for a while. Like I've said before Bennett is a very hard worker, but lacks smarts. Huberdeau drives a very fast rush and has excellent vision. Almost all of Bennett's points thus far either involve feeding the puck to Huberdeau and having Huberdeau carry the puck in and score or driving the net while Huberdeau carries the puck in.

I disagree that Bennett would have done well centering Gaudreau. Gaudreau has an entirely different style of play, and you have to be in position consistently to play with Gaudreau, who slows the game down and creates space. You have to be able to use the space Gaudreau creates, which is not Bennett's skill set.

Both Gaudreau and Huberdeau take on many of the typical centre obligations when entering the zone. So I don't think the "never got ot play his position" argument is very strong here.

 

[blankall]

Soo.. has Sam Bennett been playing like "playoff" Sam Bennett the moment he stepped into Florida or something?

How did the entire league sleep on this guy?

No one was sleeping on Sam Bennett. He was a Flames player, so a bunch of sad Oilers players were constantly calling him a bust to feel better about Yakupov. Now that he's not on the Flames, he's a superstar.

At the end of the day, Bennett has always done some things extremely well. Mostly being physical and driving the net. That works very well with Huberdeau's style of play.

 

[DuklaNation]

A good line mix is passer/grinder/shooter. Huberdeau/Bennett/Tippett. Rinse and repeat.

 

[ORRFForever]

Pretty amazing that when you put a high draft pick in the top 6 with players that can produce while letting him play his natural position that he actually produces.

He deserved a chance. Looks like he is making the most of it.

 

[WaitingForThatCab]

Bennett compliments Huberdeau very well.

This is a huge part of it. Wennberg was the previous 2C, and he just didn't mesh well with Huberdeau at all. Second line was ice cold and you could sense frustration with the coaching staff juggling the lines constantly trying to make something work. Bennett is just a really good fit with Huberdeau and it's freed Wennberg up to greatly elevate the play of the third line.

IMHO, he's just a really good fit both for what the Panthers are doing and what the roster needed.

 

[Samsquanch]

It's really funny that everyone other than Flames fans were calling us delusional a month ago when we said he still had value and pointed out the things he was good at and now we're salty when we point out the things he isn't good at.

Honestly I'd love it if Bennett turned into a regular top 2 line player in Florida, but he's has stretches like this in Calgary too hence "playoff Sam Bennett". Give it a full season in Florida before we start making these kind of statements

Your missing the point entirely.

Everyone was correct in saying that the flames were delusional for believing that Bennett had high value still. He didnt. The Flames management tanked his value into the ground, and regardless of what they felt his potential still was, they traded him for market value.....

If the Flames and their fans knew what they had in Bennett, they should have obviously kept him and put him into a situation to succeed that would raise his value (or keep him for that matter). If anyone should have known what Bennet was, it should have been the flames..

I'll be the first one to shake the hand of any flames fan that was calling their management incompetent for not playing Bennett properly. And ill sympathize heavily with them...

But if I'm not mistaken it seems like most flames fans believe this is on Bennett mostly, and that this is a mirage of some sort....?

 

[Mobiandi]

Am I actually seeing Oilers fans pretend like they knew Bennett was going to break out after all