Did you know Sam Bennett helped the Flames land Yegor Sharangovich nearly three years after being dealt by the Flames to Florida? Well sort of. With Sharangovich’s strong performance in 2023–24, it’s brought up the topic of the convoluted Sam Bennett trade tree that has sprouted and it lasting impacts on the Flames. After shipping Bennett to Florida back in 2021, the impact of the relatively small deal can still be felt to this day. So what does the full trade tree look like after all these years? Let’s take a deeper look.
The Sam Bennett trade tree
The original deal
To FLA: Sam Bennett and CGY 2022 6th
To CGY: Emil Heineman and FLA 2022 2nd
The original deal was a relatively small one, with the Flames sending Bennett along with a sixth-round draft pick to the Panthers for prospect Emil Heineman and a second-round pick. This is where it starts to get interesting though. The only asset still on the same team just three years later is Bennett, as Heineman and both drafts picks in the deal were dealt to other teams soon after.
Bennett has become a mainstay in the Panthers lineup and has become a reliable albeit average top-six NHLer in Florida. In 171 games as a Panther Bennett has put up 118 points. The return the Flames received however has spun into multiple different assets. We’ll dig into that in a bit.
FLA trades CGY’s 2022 6th for Robert Hagg
To BUF: CGY 2022 6th (Gustav Karlsson)
To FLA: Robert Hagg
About a year later, the Panthers would ship the Flames 2022 sixth-round pick from the Bennett trade to the Buffalo Sabres for defenceman Robert Hagg. Hagg would go on to play just 16 games for the Panthers as a pure rental before leaving in free agency a couple of months after being acquired.
The Sabres would use the Flames’ sixth-round pick on centre Gustav Karlsson. Karlsson has yet to play an NHL game and has posted 11 points in 19 games in Sweden’s third tier league in 2023–24.
CGY trades Emil Heineman for Tyler Toffoli
To MTL: Emil Heineman, Tyler Pitlick, CGY 2022 1st (Filip Mesar), CGY 2023 5th (Yevgeni Volokhin)
To CGY: Tyler Toffoli
One half of the return to Calgary in prospect Heineman would never play a game in the Flames organization as he’d be used a year later to pick up Tyler Toffoli from the Montreal Canadiens. Heineman made his NHL debut this season and has currently played three games with no points.
Tyler Pitlick would play in just 14 games for the Canadiens before leaving as a free agent following the 2021–22 season. The Flames 2022 first-round pick would end up being 26th overall where the Canadiens would select Filip Mesar. Mesar is currently playing in the OHL where he’s posted 32 points in 20 games for the Kitchener Rangers.
The Flames’ 2023 fifth-round pick would end up being 144th overall and the Canadiens would select goaltender Yevgeni Volokhin. He’s currently playing in the MHL, Russia’s third tier league. Toffoli would play in 119 regular season games for the Flames across two years, posting 96 points, including leading the team in scoring last year. He’d also add five points in 12 playoff games.
All said, this was a solid deal for Calgary and gave them a player that was a perfect fit for the 2021–22 team, and then their leading scorer in 2022–23. They were then able to turn Toffoli into controlled assets which made the original deal even better for Calgary.
CGY trades FLA’s 2022 2nd for Calle Jarnkrok
To SEA: FLA 2022 2nd (David Goyette), CGY 2023 3rd, CGY 2024 7th
To CGY: Calle Jarnkrok
The Flames would also deal the second-round pick they received from Florida a year later, in a deal for Seattle’s Calle Jarnkrok. Jarnkrok was a flop in Calgary, scoring just one goal across 29 games during the 2021–22 season. He’d leave the Flames as a free agent following the season.
Seattle would use Florida’s 2022 second-round pick on forward David Goyette at 61st overall. Goyette has put up 21 goals and 56 points in just 36 games this season in the OHL. This deal ended up being a disaster for Calgary as they would’ve been better off keeping the second they received from Florida and will now be nervously tracking Goyette’s career trajectory.
Also heading to Seattle was Calgary’s 2023 third-round pick and 2024 seventh-round pick. The 2023 third-round pick has made quite the trip around the NHL. More on that below.
CGY trades Tyler Toffoli for Yegor Sharangovich
To N.J.: Tyler Toffoli
To CGY: Yegor Sharangovich, CGY 2023 3rd (Aydar Suniev)
The final branch of the trade tree—at least for now—is Calgary’s move to ship Toffoli to New Jersey this past summer. A reminder that Heineman, one of the main pieces in the Bennett trade, was then used to acquire Toffoli. Remember that 2023 third-round pick that Calgary sent along with Florida’s second-round pick from the Bennet trade to Seattle for Jarnkrok? Well after two years and stops in multiple organizations, it miraculously made its way back to Calgary this past summer.
Here’s a brief breakdown. After Calgary sent the third-round pick to Seattle in the Jarnkrok deal, Seattle then sent it to Columbus for Oliver Bjorkstrand. Columbus then sent it to New Jersey for Damon Severson this past summer. Finally, New Jersey sent it back home to Calgary in the Toffoli deal a few months ago.
This deal has been a pretty major win for both Calgary and New Jersey so far. Sharangovich has brought some much-needed youth to Calgary’s lineup and is currently on pace for 24 goals and a career-high 51 points. Toffoli meanwhile has fit in perfectly with New Jersey’s young talent and is currently on track for 34 goals. Add in that the Flames picked up promising youngster Aydar Suniev with the third-round pick they received in the deal and things are looking good for Calgary.
The gift that keeps on giving
Who would’ve guessed that the trade that finally sent Bennett to a new home would still be paying off in a big way in 2024? Calgary has used the assets acquired with Bennett to stack up for a playoff run in 2021–22, and then also reload a currently retooling roster with some much-needed youth and future assets. So in the end Bennett became Heineman, who was used to acquire Toffoli, who was then used to acquire Sharangovich and Suniev.
For now, this concludes the final branch, but if Sharangovich or Suniev ever find new homes, it could add yet another layer to the never-ending Bennett trade tree.
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