"For me, personally, I think I can take it as a fresh start. I'm excited," the 24-year-old center said Wednesday. "It's really kind of like a reset and I can start to try to find a role again.
"I've talked with Darryl a couple times now. We've had some really good conversations just about what he wants from me and what he expects. So I'm definitely looking forward to starting fresh here and proving my worth again. I'm definitely excited, for sure."
Sutter was hired by the Flames when Geoff Ward was fired on March 4, and will be behind the bench for his first game when Calgary hosts the Montreal Canadiens on Thursday (9 p.m. ET; SNW, RDS, TSN2, NHL.TV).
The Flames are 11-12-3 this season and in sixth place in the seven-team Scotia North Division, four points behind the fourth-place Canadiens. The top four teams will qualify for the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
This is Sutter's second tenure with Calgary; he coached the Flames for three seasons from 2002-06 and was their general manager from 2003-10. Sutter won the Stanley Cup twice as coach of the Los Angeles Kings in 2012 and 2014.
Bennett, who reportedly requested a trade in late January, has been a healthy scratch three times and was benched in another game this season.
"I think we just want him to be a 200-foot, straight-line, work hard, honest player," Sutter said. "That's how I envision him coming in and that's how we addressed it with Sam. Obviously, I like those kind of players, and now it's to get him up to pace and play at the pace we want him to."
Bennett has scored four points (three goals, one assist) and has a minus-11 rating in 23 games this season, and is eighth among Calgary forwards in average ice time at 13:10 per game. He led the Flames with five goals and tied center Sean Monahan for the Calgary lead with eight points in 10 games in the 2020 Stanley Cup Playoffs, where the Flames lost to the Dallas Stars in six games in the Western Conference First Round.
He has scored one goal with a minus-8 rating in his past nine games.
"I think No. 1 is my mindset coming in," said Bennett, the No. 4 pick in the 2014 NHL Draft. "Definitely got to be positive, got to be engaged. I really don't think I can take a step back. I can't take any periods off, any shifts off. I've really got to have a good start right from the beginning and then I can roll after that.
"My game's hard and physical and it's engaged in the battles and making plays and being confident. I'm going to play my game and hopefully that's what he likes."
