HockeyZonePlus – How did you deal with the transition from your NHL career to your current life?
Curt Bennett - The transition is more difficult than any player can imagine. What other job can give you so much free time and yet pay you such excellent money? If a normal job pays well, you usually don't have any free time. And if your job gives you plenty of free time, you usually don't get much money. I knew I didn't want to worry about moving, so I began a job in real estate. A player’s biggest fear while playing is to be traded. We all like to settle down and establish roots. A retired player has to deal with the fact that he is earning a living for just himself and his family. When you are a player, you represent not only yourself but the entire city you play for. Everyone is interested in what you do because your performance affects them. When you are in business, your performance only affects your client and yourself. In my case for instance, if I were to negotiate a lease for business the event wouldn't be on TV or in the papers (unless it were a really big deal). Even if it were a major deal, you wouldn't be sharing it with the entire city. A player has to get used to being an ordinary person.

HockeyZonePlus – You retired the year that the Atlanta Flames moved to Calgary. Is there any significance to the timing?
Curt Bennett - I had already planned to retire in Atlanta in 1980. I was working for a local TV station doing sports reporting. I had also hoped to work for the Flames, but I didn't know the team would be moving. I still had some hockey gasoline left in my engine, so I opted for the adventure of playing in Japan for two years. I kept my home in Atlanta, but played the next two seasons for Furukawa Denko Ice hockey team in Nikko, Japan. I believe I remember this experience more than any other. I got a chance to write some articles for "Goal" magazine, and send some TV stories back to NHL TV stations. The game of hockey was enjoyed in such a distant culture. My wife and I loved the experience.

HockeyZonePlus – Did you stay involved with hockey after your adventure in Japan or have you preferred to stay away from the game?
Curt Bennett - I don't think I played hockey for 5 years after retiring. My son was starting to get involved so I coached his team. Eventually I started playing in men's hockey leagues. I believed hockey should never have left Atlanta, so I headed a movement to get an NHL team back to Atlanta. I was working with developers in my business, so I started romancing them to bring a team back. Scotty Bowman was my first coach in St. Louis. When he was fired from Buffalo in 1986, I had him come to Atlanta to meet some developer friends of mine. He excited them to the point that they made a run at an expansion team, but Scotty had told them a new team would be $30 million or so. Tampa and Ottawa paid $50 million. We came close though.

HockeyZonePlus – What do you consider to be the highlight of your NHL career?
Curt Bennett - The 1973-74 season in Atlanta was exciting because even though we were a young, inexperienced expansion team, we made the play-offs in just our second season. The whole city was happy just to see us compete. When we made the play-offs the city went bananas. Hockey was still new to the South, but a romance had begun.

HockeyZonePlus – What do you consider to be the low point of your NHL career?
Curt Bennett - The low point in most player's career is when they get traded. You usually know it’s coming, but it’s still an adjustment. I was lucky though in that I kept getting traded back to an old team. St. Louis traded me to Atlanta for 6 years, Atlanta traded me to St. Louis for two years, then St. Louis traded me back to Atlanta for their last season in 1979-80. I even had the same house in Atlanta when I got traded back to the Flames in 1979.