Wes Gilbertson of the Calgary Sun: It remains clear the Calgary Flames GM Brad Treliving will wait patiently for the right trade offer for Sam Bennett.
What the Flames are looking for in return Bennett seems unknown. There are some questions as to what they may be looking for in return.
- “Are the Flames looking to replace that sort of sandpaper, ideally in a right-handed package?
- Are they angling for a pick or prospect, preferring to clear Bennett’s US$2.55-million cap-hit from their books and spend that extra loot later?
- With an expansion draft looming, can they acquire an asset that will be exempt from that process?”
Eric Francis of Sportsnet: Sam Bennett playing alongside Johnny Gaudreau and Sean Monahan on paper it looks like it should work, but it rarely has. On the weekend, it worked.
The Flames hope they can get Bennett going as they don’t want to, and don’t have any imminent plans to trade him. They need his all-around game to be more consistent.
“We’re going to give it some time and see how it is,” said Ward when asked how long Bennett would stay with a pair that has only had consistent success with Lindholm and Jiri Hudler.
“The one thing with our lineup is we’re trying to find some continuity where we can keep guys together for a while. That’s happened with a few of the lines, but with a couple others we’re still tinkering a bit. The quicker we can get lines the better, instead of switching around a lot.”
If Bennett can play with Gaudreau and Monahan, he won’t be going anywhere. If Bennett becomes an issue in the dressing room, then maybe things change, but he’s mainly been after a bigger role and they all get that.
Bennett realizes he has received the shot that he’s wanted. It’s on him to now take advantage of that opportunity.
“I’ve just got to take advantage of that and I think we’re going to have some success. I’ve got a couple opportunities here and there (with them) — they usually don’t last too long, so I’m hoping it’s not going to be short-lived. Hopefully we can build some chemistry and work together.
Hopefully I get to play with them for a while.”
It’s looking like Bennett could be exposed for the Seattle Kraken expansion draft, so they may lose him anyways after the season.