Calgary Flames: Three best trade destinations for Sam Bennett
Calgary Flames forward Sam Bennett could be on the move and we have the three best destinations for him.
We could be on the cusp of witnessing a fairly big trade in the NHL after Sam Bennett was made a healthy scratch for the Calgary Flames’ North Division matchup against the Winnipeg Jets tonight. Now, granted, Bennett has been disappointing this season with one assist and a -5 rating in nine games, so it could be that he’s being sat due to poor play.
Sam Bennett likely won’t be in the Flames lineup tonight against the Winnipeg Jets. Coach decision. This may fuel trade speculation, but sources say, at the moment, there is nothing on the front burner related to trade.
— Darren Dreger (@DarrenDreger) February 4, 2021
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However, trade rumors have followed Bennett for much of the 2020-21 season so it is hard to ignore the fact that this latest development may have something to do with the constant speculation revolving around Bennett and his future with the Calgary Flames.
Now, Darren Dreger of TSN has stated that the Flames “are in no rush” to trade Bennett given the center’s value, but every player has a price and it is feasible to think that Calgary General Manager Brad Treliving could be tempted to part company with the 24-year-old if he was presented with the right offer.
Drafted with the No. 4 overall pick in the 2014 NHL Entry Draft by the Calgary Flames, Sam Bennett has scored 63 goals and tallied 66 assists in 373 career NHL games, in addition to putting up 19 points (11 G, 8 A) in 30 Stanley Cup Playoffs games for the Flames.
Still only 24-years-old and in the last year of a two-year, $5,100,000 contract with an AAV of $2,550,000, Sam Bennett will be an attractive player for a number of contenders looking for that final piece in order to embark on a deep postseason run or for a team looking to build around a young core, and we’re going to look at a few potential destinations for the pivot. Let’s delve right in…
Three best trade destinations for Calgary Flames forward Sam Bennett
3. Toronto Maple Leafs
We’ll lead off with this one because the Toronto Maple Leafs seem to be linked with every player wanting a change of scenery, particularly those already residing in a Canadian market. It is no different with Sam Bennett, and we’re going to try and work out if the Maple Leafs would actually be genuine trading partners for the Calgary Flames.
Of course, it is no secret that the Maple Leafs are always looking for more firepower and while Bennett isn’t the most consistent producer during the regular-season, he has developed a reputation for coming up clutch when it matters most in the Stanley Cup Playoffs. For example, the 24-year-old recorded eight points (5 G, 3 A) in 10 postseason contests for the Flames in 2019-20, and that could be an attractive factor for Toronto who can’t seem to get over the hump in the Playoffs.
Therefore, it is possible that the Leafs could look to acquire Bennett in order to add yet more forward depth to their lineup, while also gaining a player who seems to relish playing in the biggest moments and can handle the pressure that comes with that. However, what would the Maple Leafs need to give up?
Well, with very little wriggle room when it comes to the salary cap, the Toronto Maple Leafs would probably have to send a player back to Calgary in order to make this deal work financially, along with maybe a Third or Fourth-Round pick. Does it seem likely? Probably not, but you can’t ever rule anything out with the Maple Leafs and they seem to enjoy stockpiling forwards so it is one worth keeping an eye on.
2. Detroit Red Wings
This one is slightly out of left-field but it actually makes a lot of sense the more you think about it for a whole bevy of reasons. For starters, one of Sam Bennett’s reported reasons behind wanting out of Calgary is that he wants a bigger role. Well, he would almost certainly get that with the Detroit Red Wings given that they are pretty much devoid of any talent outside a handful of players.
It worked for Robby Fabbri who was traded by the St. Louis Blues to Detroit and, in need of resurrecting his career, the forward went on an absolute tear with the Red Wings in 2019-20 with 31 points (14 G, 17 A) in 52 games, and Bennet could do similar given that he will almost certainly be given the opportunity to establish himself as a top-six forward for Detroit.
Detroit have the cap space to make it work – just under $7 million according to CapFriendly – and they also have a bounty of picks that they could send to Calgary, in addition to an established forward in either Bobby Ryan or Vladislav Namestnikov if the Flames want a player back who can slot straight in and contribute.
Plus, for Sam Bennett, he is a RFA after this season so he will have an opportunity to either boost his stock and market value in order to attract the attention of more teams, or he could decide that the Detroit Red Wings are the team to give him the bigger role he craves and opts to sign a bridge deal that would work for both franchise and player.
1. New York Rangers
The New York Rangers seem to be cropping up in conversations regarding Sam Bennett because, if you haven’t heard, they actually have a player they are trying to shop too in Tony DeAngelo, who cleared waivers but has played his last game for the Blueshirts after a string of problems on and off the ice.
Now, we don’t know if the Calgary Flames would be interested in taking on a problem like DeAngelo who, as talented as he is on the ice, certainly comes with a lot of baggage and his problems this year on social media coupled with a reported altercation with teammate Alexandar Georgiev could put a lot of teams off.
However, there are Hockey Insiders out there that say there are teams interested who view Tony DeAngelo as an intriguing reclamation project, and there is no doubt that the offensive blueliner has high upside, as backed up by his 53 points (15 G, 38 A) in 68 regular-season games in 2019-20, while he would give what is an average Flames power play unit some spark.
For the Rangers, they have lacked forward depth for a while and Sam Bennett could be the centrepiece of their third-line, especially with Filip Chytil out for a while with an upper-body injury, so there is an immediate need for someone to step in and anchor that third-line while providing much needed depth and secondary scoring.
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Bennett has flirted with being a 30-point scorer during the regular-season before and maybe a change of scenery coupled with the fact that he could end up with a player in the ilk of Kaapo Kakko on his line could unlock some hidden potential, and the New York Rangers certainly have the cap space to make this work while it could work as a straight swap between two players who are in a need of a fresh start in a new market with a team that is really going to value them.