Shortly after it was reported that the St. Louis Blues had signed Chris Thorburn to a two-year contract, the team announced that they also signed forward Beau Bennett to a one-year contract worth $650,000.
The Bennett signing won’t grab any headlines, but it’s an extremely interesting move by the Blues which falls into the low-risk, high-reward category.
Previously, Bennett skated with the New Jersey Devils in 2016-17, scoring eight goals and 19 points in 65 games. He was with the Pittsburgh Penguing for four seasons before that, but struggled to find consistent playing time. While his basic stats aren’t exactly thrilling, the advanced stats show that he led all of the Devils in Corsi For last season (53.27%), meaning he helped his team control the action more times than not while out on the ice. That’s particularly impressive as the Devils as a whole were abysmal last season.
Bennett’s strong advanced stats and the fact his game may still grow at the age of 25 had some other team blogs calling him a potential bargain. Bennett should see time on the fourth line with the Blues, but he has the potential to earn time on the third line based on his advanced stats. He won’t put up any crazy offensive totals, but he’s a bottom-six forward who helps his team control the puck and generate chances. That sounds pretty good for a cap hit of $650,000.
With the Blues turning over some of their depth, Bennett appears to be a strong new addition.
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