The 2018-19 season could be a crucial campaign for Calgary Flames forward Sam Bennett.
Bennett was once a highly-touted prospect, selected fourth overall by the Flames in the 2014 NHL Draft. With his two-way skills, feisty style, and leadership potential, he was expected to join Johnny Gaudreau and Sean Monahan as one of the Flames’ rising young stars.
Called up late in 2014-15, Bennett tallied three goals in 11 games during the 2015 playoffs, making a positive impression with his energetic style. The following season, his first full rookie campaign, he netted a respectable 18 goals and 36 points in 77 games.
Since then, however, Bennett’s struggled to achieve his much-anticipated breakthrough performance. He was employed in checking-line roles, bouncing from center to left wing, resulting in disappointing back-to-back 26-point efforts in 2016-17 and 2017-18.
This season, under new Flames coach Bill Peters, the 22-year-old Bennett finds himself skating at left wing on the Flames’ third line. In his first five games, he scored a goal and set up another.
Bennett’s name frequently surfaced in trade speculation throughout 2017-18. Barely two weeks into this season, he’s surfaced against in the rumor mill.
During his Oct. 10, 2018 “31 Thoughts” column, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reported several clubs, including the Anaheim Ducks, Montreal Canadiens, Philadelphia Flyers and Tampa Bay Lightning, expressed interest in Bennett over the years.
Friedman, however, doubts the Flames want to give up on the young forward, noting the possibility he could blossom elsewhere.
Two days later, Friedman told Calgary’s Sportsnet 960 he didn’t get the sense the Flames were ever close to trading Bennett. He feels they don’t want to repeat the mistake the Edmonton Oilers made with winger Taylor Hall, who went on to win the 2018 Hart Memorial Trophy with the New Jersey Devils.
General manager Brad Treliving’s patience with Bennett is understandable, even admirable. Though he’s entering his fourth full NHL season, he still has enough time to develop into a solid second-line forward.
Bennett also carries an affordable average annual salary of $1.95 million this season. He’ll become a restricted free agent with arbitration rights next July but should prove an affordable short-term re-signing if Treliving still believes he has a future in Calgary.
Treliving’s patience, however, isn’t limitless. Despite the affordable cost of re-signing Bennett, the Flames GM could develop second thoughts if he fails to make any notable improvement under Peters’ coaching this season.
With Monahan and Mikael Backlund entrenched in the top-two center roles, and Gaudreau and Matthew Tkachuk as the top-two left wings, there’s little room for Bennett to move up in the Flames’ depth chart.
Of course, Bennett could provide some invaluable two-way skills on the third line with the capability of moving up as a short-term injury replacement in the top-six. To fulfill that role, however, he’ll need a better effort compared to that of the last two seasons.
At some point, Treliving will have to decide if Bennett still has untapped potential or if what he’s done over the course of his short career is the best he’s ever going to be.
That decision could come sooner than expected.
If Bennett isn’t showing any real sign of improvement over the course of this season, Treliving could start listening seriously to trade offers from other clubs, either leading up to the Feb. 25, 2019 trade deadline or in the offseason.