Training camp opens in just over a week and one of the Calgary Flames' key players, Sam Bennett, is still without a contract.
Not only has a deal not been reached but nothing is even close, according to TSN's Darren Dreger.
Still a sizable gap in contract talks between the Flames and Sam Bennett. Possibility Bennett heads overseas until a deal in Calgary is done
— Darren Dreger (@DarrenDreger) September 5, 2017
This was always going to take time. Flames GM Brad Treliving is generally pretty stingy in negotiations and Bennett is a restricted free agent without arbitration rights, meaning he has little leverage to get the kind of deal he wants.
In cases such as this, GMs tend to dig their feet into the ground and they have little reason not to. That's why it's not uncommon to see quality restricted free agents remain unsigned despite the off-season nearing its end (David Pastrnak, Bo Horvat, Damon Severson and Andreas Athanasiou headline the list, with the latter being the best comparable to Bennett).
While Bennett may be legitimately open to a deal overseas -- he could make decent coin and play for Canada in the Olympics should things drag out -- I think this is just a ploy to give him *some* leverage in negotiations.
Treliving is undoubtedly holding firm on giving Bennett X amount of dollars but he may be willing to budge a little bit if the alternative is not having Bennett in the lineup come October.
Bennett didn't meet expectations last season but he was still a useful player and there is a lot of room for growth. Losing a middle-6 contributor, who could step into a more primary role in the event of injury, in a year which the team wants to contend is not exactly ideal.
Ultimately, I expect the two sides will settle their differences, meet in the middle, and get a short-term deal done prior to any games being played.
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