Quoting: Ledge_And_Dairy
Wow, this entire post literally shows how little you actually know about Bennett and tbh is pretty embarrassing because how how hard you are trying to argue it.
For example
"According to this he is your 3rd line RW, so not even a center anymore"
Did you even bother to look at who his current center was? Michael freaking Backlund, you know, a guy who on par with David Krejci, the one you just ranted about for no reason. I could go through all your little nitpicks like comparing Kuraly's career best year to Bennett's career worst but I think ill pass
You realize you said nothing right....
and you are the one who keeps embarrassing yourself with lack of knowledge.
Backlund and Krejci are not comparable. not even close. Lol
Krejci:
82 Game Avg. NHL 82gp 18g 44a 62pts
Backlund:
82 Game Avg. NHL 82gp 17g 26a 43pts
Also - please nitpick away. I compared the last two years, not one guys best and one guys worst. The most relevant ones. The two most current. The two that will show trends. Which was when Kuraly signed his deal. Kuraly was a 4 year college player, 1 year AHL and then an NHL regular. No, he was not as highly touted. He is more or less the same player.
Bennett's ice time has gone down every year since his rookie season. Kuraly has avg more ice time over the last two years.
To be clear, I didn't pick Bennett's worst years. His rookie season was his best with 36pts. The other 3 were almost identical with 26,26 & 27pts, followed up by the 12pt. He just isn't that good.
The offensive numbers are similar - Bennett is a little better, but he also plays with more talent as backlund isn't krejci, he is better than Par lindholm, or Chris wagner.
Bennett is a -57 for his career. Admittedly not a great stat alone, but when paired with others it can start to paint a picture.
I know, I know Bennett is a defensive go to; he starts 60/40 in the defensive zone, so he is bound to be on the ice for more goals against.
Kuraly is 82/18 in the defensive zone and is a -4.
Kuraly has more points, Better +/-, more ice time, half the cap hit and is elite defensively.
Facts don't back up any of your arguments. You are basing your entire argument on an 18 goal rookie season that he hasn't come close to repeating. That was six years ago.