Per Andy Strickland - Sam Bennett Blues Target

[STL fan in MN]

I’m on the fence with a player like Sam Bennett. On one hand, he’s a heck of a player, especially in the playoffs. But here are some concerns.

•He’s going to get paid bank. He is perhaps the player most likely to get paid too high of an AAV and/or too long of a term this summer. A 6 year deal would be buying his age 29-34 years. The max 7 and it takes him to age 35. Lots of miles on him already. I just don’t see him aging well.

•His career high is 51 pts. He’s eclipsed 41 twice ever in his career. He is no offensive dynamo. His value would be more in the style of game he plays.

•He was somehow -15 on a Panthers team that had a +29 goal differential this year. How is that even possible? I’ll be the first to say +/- can be a flawed stat but that’s an insane outlier.

•I just don’t like the guy. Again, I’m on the fence here though. I absolutely love those plays with an edge types of players but this one goes over the line constantly. In terms of being dirty he’s probably worse than Kadri and there’d be a riot if the Blues ever signed/traded for Kadri.

•I see the need for an upgrade at 2C but would prefer one that’s not going to require a 6-7 year contract. Dvorsky won’t be ready for the 2C role next season but I also don’t want to completely block him.

Would signing him instantly make the Blues better? Yes. Would it be a good idea though? No, probably not IMO. This would be a big risk and I’d prefer the Blues spend their money elsewhere to try to find an upgrade.

Excellent points, all. One mitigator to your concern about blocking any player in the future is that this type of player, because he has Classic Ideal Playoff Value, could be moved down the road even toward the end of this contract.

Assuming he’d be willing to waive his NTC, something he’s sure to get with as hot of a commodity he’ll be this summer.

[Nublues69]

That seems like a weird logic to me, adding players is how you get to the next level isn't it?


I'd be ok with the idea of signing Bennett and trading Dvorsky in a package for Nemec.

I think when it comes to a guy like Bennett its probably more about whether he wants us than if we want him.

Blues will absolutly not trad dvorsky ever

[STL fan in MN]

I’m on the fence with a player like Sam Bennett. On one hand, he’s a heck of a player, especially in the playoffs. But here are some concerns.

•He’s going to get paid bank. He is perhaps the player most likely to get paid too high of an AAV and/or too long of a term this summer. A 6 year deal would be buying his age 29-34 years. The max 7 and it takes him to age 35. Lots of miles on him already. I just don’t see him aging well.

•His career high is 51 pts. He’s eclipsed 41 twice ever in his career. He is no offensive dynamo. His value would be more in the style of game he plays.

•He was somehow -15 on a Panthers team that had a +29 goal differential this year. How is that even possible? I’ll be the first to say +/- can be a flawed stat but that’s an insane outlier.

•I just don’t like the guy. Again, I’m on the fence here though. I absolutely love those plays with an edge types of players but this one goes over the line constantly. In terms of being dirty he’s probably worse than Kadri and there’d be a riot if the Blues ever signed/traded for Kadri.

•I see the need for an upgrade at 2C but would prefer one that’s not going to require a 6-7 year contract. Dvorsky won’t be ready for the 2C role next season but I also don’t want to completely block him.

Would signing him instantly make the Blues better? Yes. Would it be a good idea though? No, probably not IMO. This would be a big risk and I’d prefer the Blues spend their money elsewhere to try to find an upgrade.

All of this X 2,112.

Better ways to spend money than on a 40-point center too close to 30.

Blues are a much better team with him in the lineup. There are a lot of 50pt players out there that don't provide an ounce of what Sam Bennett does. Sometimes you gotta pay for intangibles too and Bennett has that.

He does today. But he’s also had a lot of injuries over the years. How confident are you he’d actually live up to the type of contract it will almost certainly take to get him signed? That’s my main concern. Might look good for a year or two but then turn into an albatross real quick.

Not my job to worry about the spend, he makes us a better team during those first 4 years of any deal...the last 3 years assuming its a 7 year deal, Steener will figure it out. This dude is an absolute stud of a gamer....granted the offense never came for him and I believe Calgary was to blame for that but he figured out his role in the NHL and he does it very well and when all else fails, he passed the Doug Gilmour test...Gilmour drafted him for Kingston.

Yeah, but it is Army’s job to worry about it. Also, don’t agree he’s necessarily able to keep the same form for 4 years. And even with that assumption, it’s acknowledging he’d likely be a bad asset the last 3 years.

I like what he brings today and I’ve got no issue taking risk but unless he requires less term than I think he will, he’s just not a good risk IMO.

[skilles]

I guess you sign him with the idea he is your #2 center for maybe 2 years, after which Dvorsky takes that role and he drops down to the 3rd line.

I like him as a player, im just not sure i want the blues to be the team to overpay him in free agency.

We would be a very fun team to watch in the playoffs though.

I don't want to pay a 3rd line center 7+ million that is just an awful use of cap space.

By the time he is a 3rd line center what will the cap be then? 7M then might seem like 4M is now

Yeah that is exactly right.

[STL fan in MN]

Targeting Bennett isn't necessarily a bad idea. We certainly need an upgrade at 2C.

But he doesn't make Dvorsky expendable in any way. By the time Dvo is hitting his stride at the NHL level, Bennett will be in Schenn territory. He's a very good fit for a stop gap who eventually slides down the lineup, not as a replacement.

100%.

You still keep Devo. When he’s NHL ready, ease him in at 3C or 2 or 3LW. You eventually have the wonderful problem of too many quality players and not enough room for them all? Then you trade 1-2 of them (but still likely not the young C).

[TheJackBurton]

I guess you sign him with the idea he is your #2 center for maybe 2 years, after which Dvorsky takes that role and he drops down to the 3rd line.

I like him as a player, im just not sure i want the blues to be the team to overpay him in free agency.

We would be a very fun team to watch in the playoffs though.

I don't want to pay a 3rd line center 7+ million that is just an awful use of cap space.

By the time he is a 3rd line center what will the cap be then? 7M then might seem like 4M is now

not at 34,35,36. If he sees serious decline it will feel like 9 million.

[netboy65]

I guess you sign him with the idea he is your #2 center for maybe 2 years, after which Dvorsky takes that role and he drops down to the 3rd line.

I like him as a player, im just not sure i want the blues to be the team to overpay him in free agency.

We would be a very fun team to watch in the playoffs though.

I don't want to pay a 3rd line center 7+ million that is just an awful use of cap space.

By the time he is a 3rd line center what will the cap be then? 7M then might seem like 4M is now

not at 34,35,36. If he sees serious decline it will feel like 9 million.

Wasn’t that the same logic we (myself included) used against signing Petro? I know F and D are different but maybe he will be like Thornton and be quasi-effective until he really got old.

[Pierre McGuire]

I’m on the fence with a player like Sam Bennett. On one hand, he’s a heck of a player, especially in the playoffs. But here are some concerns.

•He’s going to get paid bank. He is perhaps the player most likely to get paid too high of an AAV and/or too long of a term this summer. A 6 year deal would be buying his age 29-34 years. The max 7 and it takes him to age 35. Lots of miles on him already. I just don’t see him aging well.

•His career high is 51 pts. He’s eclipsed 41 twice ever in his career. He is no offensive dynamo. His value would be more in the style of game he plays.

•He was somehow -15 on a Panthers team that had a +29 goal differential this year. How is that even possible? I’ll be the first to say +/- can be a flawed stat but that’s an insane outlier.

•I just don’t like the guy. Again, I’m on the fence here though. I absolutely love those plays with an edge types of players but this one goes over the line constantly. In terms of being dirty he’s probably worse than Kadri and there’d be a riot if the Blues ever signed/traded for Kadri.

•I see the need for an upgrade at 2C but would prefer one that’s not going to require a 6-7 year contract. Dvorsky won’t be ready for the 2C role next season but I also don’t want to completely block him.

Would signing him instantly make the Blues better? Yes. Would it be a good idea though? No, probably not IMO. This would be a big risk and I’d prefer the Blues spend their money elsewhere to try to find an upgrade.

All of this X 2,112.

Better ways to spend money than on a 40-point center too close to 30.

Blues are a much better team with him in the lineup. There are a lot of 50pt players out there that don't provide an ounce of what Sam Bennett does. Sometimes you gotta pay for intangibles too and Bennett has that.

He does today. But he’s also had a lot of injuries over the years. How confident are you he’d actually live up to the type of contract it will almost certainly take to get him signed? That’s my main concern. Might look good for a year or two but then turn into an albatross real quick.

Not my job to worry about the spend, he makes us a better team during those first 4 years of any deal...the last 3 years assuming its a 7 year deal, Steener will figure it out. This dude is an absolute stud of a gamer....granted the offense never came for him and I believe Calgary was to blame for that but he figured out his role in the NHL and he does it very well and when all else fails, he passed the Doug Gilmour test...Gilmour drafted him for Kingston.

Yeah, but it is Army’s job to worry about it. Also, don’t agree he’s necessarily able to keep the same form for 4 years. And even with that assumption, it’s acknowledging he’d likely be a bad asset the last 3 years.

I like what he brings today and I’ve got no issue taking risk but unless he requires less term than I think he will, he’s just not a good risk IMO.

Well if Strickland is correct and the Blues plan to be a player in pursuit of him, then I guess Army has a plan and idea and i'm good with that. If you are truly trying to make your team better and win...i'm not worried about the risk but thats just me. As a fan, I know the intangibles he brings to a team, I also know he's not gonna be cheap and i'm ok with that too. It will all work itself out...

[Younghopp1991]

I’m on the fence with a player like Sam Bennett. On one hand, he’s a heck of a player, especially in the playoffs. But here are some concerns.

•He’s going to get paid bank. He is perhaps the player most likely to get paid too high of an AAV and/or too long of a term this summer. A 6 year deal would be buying his age 29-34 years. The max 7 and it takes him to age 35. Lots of miles on him already. I just don’t see him aging well.

•His career high is 51 pts. He’s eclipsed 41 twice ever in his career. He is no offensive dynamo. His value would be more in the style of game he plays.

•He was somehow -15 on a Panthers team that had a +29 goal differential this year. How is that even possible? I’ll be the first to say +/- can be a flawed stat but that’s an insane outlier.

•I just don’t like the guy. Again, I’m on the fence here though. I absolutely love those plays with an edge types of players but this one goes over the line constantly. In terms of being dirty he’s probably worse than Kadri and there’d be a riot if the Blues ever signed/traded for Kadri.

•I see the need for an upgrade at 2C but would prefer one that’s not going to require a 6-7 year contract. Dvorsky won’t be ready for the 2C role next season but I also don’t want to completely block him.

Would signing him instantly make the Blues better? Yes. Would it be a good idea though? No, probably not IMO. This would be a big risk and I’d prefer the Blues spend their money elsewhere to try to find an upgrade.

I would love to have bennet. His game play style (minus the over the top dirty hits) fits our style well. But you are right. His contract would be a log jam for a few years and we just got out from cap problems. Only way i sign him is if schenn wouldnt mind a change to play with his brother. But that deal has to be set in place before. Then you uprgrade your 2c while not blocking dvorsky. You just cant have schenn and bennet’s contract on the same team for 3 years.

[TheJackBurton]

I guess you sign him with the idea he is your #2 center for maybe 2 years, after which Dvorsky takes that role and he drops down to the 3rd line.

I like him as a player, im just not sure i want the blues to be the team to overpay him in free agency.

We would be a very fun team to watch in the playoffs though.

I don't want to pay a 3rd line center 7+ million that is just an awful use of cap space.

By the time he is a 3rd line center what will the cap be then? 7M then might seem like 4M is now

not at 34,35,36. If he sees serious decline it will feel like 9 million.

Wasn’t that the same logic we (myself included) used against signing Petro? I know F and D are different but maybe he will be like Thornton and be quasi-effective until he really got old.

Yes, if I didn't want a dman who likely wouldn't age as badly because he isn't nearly as hard on his body as Bennett, then I definitely don't want the forward who may in fact become worse.

We've seen guys who play the game like Bennett, they are great, then one year they just completely fall off the cliff. It isn't fair but the human body can only take so much and he plays a hard game that results with a lot of mileage on his body at a young age.

hell look at all the (bleep) we see with Schenn and he is still semi productive. Imagine paying Bennett 7+ million for 4 more years and he's producing less than Schenn and on the 3rd line. Dear lord it would be a nightmare on here.

[Galatians221jb1]

I don’t follow other teams much. My question is, will he help wingers like Bolduc prosper? I think Bolduc has been held down by playing with Sunny as his center. The mix seems important. Someone who excels at setting up his wingers would be ideal I would think.

[netboy65]

I guess you sign him with the idea he is your #2 center for maybe 2 years, after which Dvorsky takes that role and he drops down to the 3rd line.

I like him as a player, im just not sure i want the blues to be the team to overpay him in free agency.

We would be a very fun team to watch in the playoffs though.

I don't want to pay a 3rd line center 7+ million that is just an awful use of cap space.

By the time he is a 3rd line center what will the cap be then? 7M then might seem like 4M is now

not at 34,35,36. If he sees serious decline it will feel like 9 million.

Wasn’t that the same logic we (myself included) used against signing Petro? I know F and D are different but maybe he will be like Thornton and be quasi-effective until he really got old.

Yes, if I didn't want a dman who likely wouldn't age as badly because he isn't nearly as hard on his body as Bennett, then I definitely don't want the forward who may in fact become worse.

We've seen guys who play the game like Bennett, they are great, then one year they just completely fall off the cliff. It isn't fair but the human body can only take so much and he plays a hard game that results with a lot of mileage on his body at a young age.

hell look at all the (bleep) we see with Schenn and he is still semi productive. Imagine paying Bennett 7+ million for 4 more years and he's producing less than Schenn and on the 3rd line. Dear lord it would be a nightmare on here.

Probably a moot point anyway. Someone will go over our “puke point”

[STL fan in MN]

I guess you sign him with the idea he is your #2 center for maybe 2 years, after which Dvorsky takes that role and he drops down to the 3rd line.

I like him as a player, im just not sure i want the blues to be the team to overpay him in free agency.

We would be a very fun team to watch in the playoffs though.

I don't want to pay a 3rd line center 7+ million that is just an awful use of cap space.

By the time he is a 3rd line center what will the cap be then? 7M then might seem like 4M is now

not at 34,35,36. If he sees serious decline it will feel like 9 million.

Wasn’t that the same logic we (myself included) used against signing Petro? I know F and D are different but maybe he will be like Thornton and be quasi-effective until he really got old.

Yes, if I didn't want a dman who likely wouldn't age as badly because he isn't nearly as hard on his body as Bennett, then I definitely don't want the forward who may in fact become worse.

We've seen guys who play the game like Bennett, they are great, then one year they just completely fall off the cliff. It isn't fair but the human body can only take so much and he plays a hard game that results with a lot of mileage on his body at a young age.

hell look at all the (bleep) we see with Schenn and he is still semi productive. Imagine paying Bennett 7+ million for 4 more years and he's producing less than Schenn and on the 3rd line. Dear lord it would be a nightmare on here.

Yep. And forwards tend to peak around age 24-26, d-men more around 27-28. I’ve always found that d-men tend to age better on average but obviously every player is different. But it’s also why I tend to be more comfortable with UFA d-men than UFA forwards.

[St. Charles Bronson]

I don't have any statistical evidence, so you may well be right, but 24-26 seems early to peak for forwards.

[dhsux]

How do you sign him and not block Divorsky in a short year or maybe two? Which one gets moved over? Or is it out?

I'm not literally comparing him to Backes as a player but the risk is he gets worn down in a similar way. Blues don't need an anchor right when they hit their stride with the young guys.

Can some one explain the minus 15 I am curious about that stat on this particular team too....seems counter intuitive for all the support here.

If this Strickland rumor is true I won't cry about landing him or missing him.... either way it goes .....but I would love it if DA has a similar aggressive plan B to improve the team.

[Younghopp1991]

We have a roster roadblock already. If you sign bennett and schenn drops to 3c then dvorsky is definitely blocked. Not the biggest deal since injuries happen. But when dvorsky is a mainstay on your 3rd line center or wing you have automatically dropped neighbours to the 4th line or possibly schenn. And now have no room for 1 of sunny, walker or torpo with one of the others as a sub. Just seems like too many moving pieces to be realistic, no matter how bad i want this move to happen.