While serving as a healthy scratch further fuelled trade speculation around Calgary Flames forward Sam Bennett, TSN Hockey Insider Darren Dreger reported Thursday that no trade is imminent.

"It certainly amplifies the trade speculation across the National Hockey League media bases," Dreger said on Insider Trading. "Now, many (are) wrongly assuming that a trade must be imminent, given the fact Bennett has played well of late and he is a healthy scratch against the Winnipeg Jets. But there is no front-burner trade for Sam Bennett at the moment, but there is a good amount of interest at this stage."

Bennett, who has one assist in nine games this season, has requested a trade from the Flames, per his agent Darren Ferris. Flames head coach Geoff Ward insisted it was "coach's decision" to scratch Bennett and was not a move at the request of team management.

“It’s not a strained situation,” Ward said after the team's morning skate, per the Calgary Sun. “You can speculate as much as you want about it being that way, but it’s not. The relationship that Sam has in our locker room and with his teammates and with the coaching staff is fine. Everything that is going to happen, in terms of where the speculation is going, has to do with (general manager Brad Treliving) and Darren Ferris.

“As far as the relationship between the player and his teammates and the player and the coaching staff, there is no strain whatsoever. We’re all good with each other.”

The Flames lost Thursday's game 4-1 to the Winnipeg Jets, dropping their record to 4-5-1 on the season.

Bennett, selected fourth overall by Calgary in 2014, has spent his entire seven-year career with the Flames, scoring 63 goals and 66 assists over 373 games.