Injuries, including a pulled groin muscle, plagued Bentley in 1950–51 and limited him to 44 games. He played only eight games of the 1951–52 NHL season before the Black Hawks allowed him to return to Saskatchewan. He was loaned to the Saskatoon Quakers where he took on the role of player-coach for the Pacific Coast Hockey League (PCHL) team. Bentley appeared in 35 regular season games for the Quakers then scored 12 points in 13 games to lead the Quakers to the President's Cup championship.