I think Kuraly is a great 4th liner. Maybe the best in the league, but this is 100% a win for the Bruins because Bennett is good middle 6er

Probably fair. Only issue for the Flames would be that Kuraly is a pending UFA.

I think I'd do this as a Bruins fan despite my appreciation for Kuraly. It's a tough call, but at the same time I don't think it is. I do think there's still meat on the bone for Kuraly.

Is he? Last two seasons.


Kuraly:
GP G A PTS +/- PIM EV PP SH GW EV PP SH S S% TSA TOI ATOI FOW FOL FO% HIT BLK TK GV
140 14 30 44 4 72 14 0 0 3 28 1 1 229 6.1 375 1895 13:32 539 512 51.3 274 66 62 59
Bennett:
GP G A PTS +/- PIM EV PP SH GW EV PP SH S S% TSA TOI ATOI FOW FOL FO% HIT BLK TK GV
123 21 18 39 -7 129 17 4 0 2 15 3 0 197 10.7 356 1594 12:58 139 123 53.1 222 40 44 60

I agree with that, but Bennett only has one more year and he cost 2x as much already. Kuraly will be due a raise, but 2.5m+ would be shocking.

Calgary loses the trade simply based off term. It’s time to stop thinking of Bennett’s value based off draft slot and potential. It isn’t there. He’s not productive enough offensively for more than third line really. The rest of his game is solid. Which is lot like Kuraly though he is not productive enough to for 3rd line. In a vacuum I’d much rather have Bennett, then factor in the pending UFA status of Kuraly it’s a win for Boston.

Boston. Bennett is better offensively and reliable defensively while Kuraly is a 4C.

Hard no from Calgary

The issue when looking only at Bennett's traditional counting stats is that Bennett has spent the last number of years on the fourth line with players like Troy Brouwer, Mark Jankowksi, and Matt Stajan. That's nothing against those guys, who are all excellent hockey players and who played important roles for the Flames. But the reality is that these players were not the best linemates for Bennett - To be successful, Bennett needs a guy with some speed and/or a great shot on his line (i.e. Lindholm or Gaudreau or even Dube; not Brouwer or Janko). So while Bennett's stats are comparable to Kuraly's, I think Bennett is a much better player than what his stats show.

I often wonder how different Bennett's career might have been with some different coaching. What happens if Bennett was the one who always got to play 1C instead of Monahan? What happens if it's Bennett who got the top powerplay time instead of Monahan? Not saying that he would have been as good or scored as many goals, I'm just pointing out the fact that Monahan was given that opportunity and Bennett wasn't. And some will say that Bennett didn't earn the opportunity, but I beg to differ - his rookie season (playing on Backlund's wing) was very good and showed a lot of promise. It was so good, in fact, that the next season, the team pulled Bennett off of Backlund's wing and gave him his own line to centre. Good idea in theory, but the linemates weren't there for him. So instead of moving Bennett back to a better position until additional help could be brought in, they just kinda hoped he would figure it out with Brouwer, and when he didn't, they relegated him to 4th line minutes and/or being a healthy scratch.

I will admit that Sam Bennett is probably not the type of player we were all hoping for with 4th overall, but that does not mean he is not useful or is not talented. And I would even go as far as to say that Bennett's stats would resemble those of a 4OA player a lot more had the organization put him in a better position to succeed. Instead, we always find ourselves wanting more out of Bennett and wonder why he hasn't figured it out yet.

I am not sure the actual numbers back this. Kuraly has been more productive.

Kuraly:
GP G A PTS +/- PIM EV PP SH GW EV PP SH S S% TSA TOI ATOI FOW FOL FO% HIT BLK TK GV
140 14 30 44 4 72 14 0 0 3 28 1 1 229 6.1 375 1895 13:32 539 512 51.3 274 66 62 59
Bennett:
GP G A PTS +/- PIM EV PP SH GW EV PP SH S S% TSA TOI ATOI FOW FOL FO% HIT BLK TK GV
123 21 18 39 -7 129 17 4 0 2 15 3 0 197 10.7 356 1594 12:58 139 123 53.1 222 40 44 60

Here are the last three years:
Kuraly:
GP G A PTS +/- PIM EV PP SH GW EV PP SH S S% TSA TOI ATOI FOW FOL FO% HIT BLK TK GV
215 20 38 58 -1 112 20 0 0 4 35 1 2 363 5.5 585 2814 13:05 874 898 49.3 417 88 94 87
Bennett
GP G A PTS +/- PIM EV PP SH GW EV PP SH S S% TSA TOI ATOI FOW FOL FO% HIT BLK TK GV
205 32 33 65 -25 188 27 5 0 3 28 5 0 354 9.0 649 2775 13:32 258 223 53.6 362 74 98 92


They have been virtually identical production wise over their last 200 NHL games. That is a good sample size.

I don't know why everyone keeps saying Bennett is better offensively. He can score a bit more, but he has played with more skill around him.

He also starts in the D% a whopping 82% of the time vs Bennett's 60% - which shows his defensive abilities as well.

As for the term - I don't think one year of team control is worth that much to this type of player. Kuraly is making half of what Bennett is now. Yes, he will get more, but I don't think he gets the 2.5m Bennett is getting now. Again, they have been the exact same player for last 200 games.

I agree with most of this. Organizations and opportunities play a huge role. My counter argument would be - Kuraly is also a 4th liner playing with other 4th line players. It's not like he is lining up with Marchand and Pastrnak.

I will take any of the guys you mentioned over Par Lindholm.

Bennett doesn’t play with good players. But you forget to mention Bennett in playoffs. For a team like Calgary, we need the anti-Gaudreau (Bennett)

Fair point, and to be fair, I don't know a great deal about Kuraly. But I guess my opinion is that Bennett is not a 4th liner playing with other 4th liners. I genuinely believe that he is a 2nd/3rd liner that has had to play with 4th liners and/or buyout candidates. I think the potential is still there for his numbers to reflect his true ability.