Rangediddy
The puck was in
- Oct 28, 2011
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I'm actually getting a little tired of this mindset. Some players play well with others and some don't. Some need to play a lot of minutes to be productive, some don't. If playing Sam Bennett on the top line turns him into a 20+ goal scorer and the team wins with him there, then go with it. You try different guys in different positions and go with what works best.It is time Bennett be expected to earn his ice time. There are so many parts of his game that need work. Bottom 6 for sure unless injuries have him slotted higher.
Enough gifts.
I understand the message behind "Always earned, never given", but it was a mantra to get the players to work harder. The coaches don't rank the players who try the hardest and make their lines from that. If Bennett playing with Johnny & Mony shuffles the rest of the lineup into a way that keeps us scoring as a team, then I don't care that he hasn't done **** over the last 2 years to earn a top line spot. If he works on the top line, then it's on him to bust his ass to stay there, but not trying him there because he hasn't "earned" it yet is stupid. If he doesn't work on the top line, try someone else until they do.
You think Guenztel or Sheary "earned" the opportunity to play on the top line with Sidney Crosby?