The Calgary Flames are now at the point where they are scratching forward Sam Bennett. So, of course, there is going to be trade speculation surrounding him. Bennett was the 4th overall pick in the 2014 NHL Draft so people in Calgary would probably call him a bust if he goes for pennies on the dollar. Well, the New Jersey Devils have a similar situation going on with Pavel Zacha. He was the sixth overall pick in the 2015 Draft and has never lived up to that selection.
The New Jersey Devils should stay away from a trade involving Sam Bennett.
It is always fun to speculate what the New Jersey Devils would have to pay and where he would fit in if they made a trade for someone who is “available”. For Bennett, that isn’t necessary because they shouldn’t even consider it. They have their own version of Sam Bennett in Pavel Zacha and there are so many other good forwards there and on the way.
Bennett hasn’t been a horrible NHL player. People in Calgary might say so but he does have 63 goals and 66 assists for 129 points in 373 games played. Most of that also came in a limited role as other prospects have come in and passed him by. He hasn’t lived up to being a 4th overall pick but he can be a third or fourth liner in the NHL. The problem is, the Devils don’t need more players like that.
Their fourth line of Miles Wood, Michael McLeod, and Nathan Bastian has been very productive lately as well. It would be foolish to break them apart to add a Sam Bennett. When healthy, a third line involving players like Zacha, Travis Zajac, Janne Kuokkanen, and Yegor Sharangovich amongst other players wouldn’t be worth adding Bennett over either. He certainly wouldn’t fit in the top six so there is no reason to give up an asset for a guy like him.
We know about all of the good young forwards that New Jersey Devils have already on their roster. Well, guys like Dawson Mercer, Alexander Holtz, and Nolan Foote amongst others are also on the way. When they arrive, there will certainly be no room for Sam Bennett so it would be a waste of assets to get him now.
If they didn’t have a player like Pavel Zacha, it might be worth the risk but unless it is a one-for-one swap, it wouldn’t be worth it. The two players have the exact same cap hit as well so it isn’t like either team would be getting cap relief either. Bennett should be traded to a team that needs an extra forward instead of a team that has a whole bunch of prospects to look at.