Quote:
Originally Posted by Willi Plett
I think this is why we have seen Hartley dress Jackman over players like Bartschi. Add some toughness and grit, subtract weak and pushed off of puck. (I'm oversimplifying here a lot). I am not saying this is right or that I agreed with it. This comment just made me think about it completely differently.
I think Smid will help with this aspect of our game. We could really use another big strong gritty forward that can play in the top six. But this is part and parcel of the rebuild that is happening. I thought David Jones would add more but he has not really played to my expectations in terms of being hard to play against and in terms of timely offense.
We need our young players to fill out and get tougher. Maybe this was part of the Bartschi message. Play tougher and put some weight on in the off-season..
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This is what I was afraid would happen with Jones (and why I initially couldn't stand that trade). Colorado fans were laughing because they got rid of Jones and O'Brien. In Jones' situation, he earned every penny of that contract by playing a very hard to play against style coupled with some offence. However, injuries started happening, and he became a more perimeter player.
I loved Jones at the beginning of the season - he played that hard to play against style, and was helping put points on the board. He gets hurt, and suddenly he is that perimeter player again. I compared him to Bourque a week or two ago because of that. Hopefully he starts being that bulldog again, and stays healthy.