I know there are high hopes for Bertuzzi and also Cammalleri that they can take their careers to another level in Calgary. Cammalleri is not so much a revitalization as Bertuzzi.
Now the Flames have been doing this for a while now with mixed results. Mostly negative though. Simon, Nilson, Nieminen and Donovan were pretty positive. Of late in Calgary, Amonte, Aucoin, and Nolan have been candidates. The jury appears to still be out on Nolan but the othes have been questioned by many. And of course, there was the close call with Roenick who almost ended up in Calgary. Roenick to Phoenix was a clear failure, but he was a great addition the following year in San Jose.
What are some other reclamation projects on other teams, and d they usually fail or are they successful?
When a team is lacking prospects, reclamation projects are necessary in order to fill the voids cheaply. We did not have the finances available to throw money at problems like scoring. To solve these problems Sutter has done a masterful job at getting decent guys to be temp guys or even some longer term guys like Huselius.
As Sutter's drafting has improved (more risky offensive types like Backlund), we will have less and less needs for band-aid guys and will be able to throw some of our own youth in there instead.
As for this season, hopefully Bert and Cammo fall into the success category, but even if they both have horrible seasons, they are on one year contracts and will be replaced by two other players whether its Backlund + Free agent or another trade.
I don't think Bertuzzi needs to revitalize his career; he's not being paid to be an all-star; at his salary, a healthy Bertuzzi putting up 40+ points, similar to last season will be him meeting reasonable expectations
No jury out on Nolan. His year in Calgary was a huge success.
Hasn't it been established in a previous thread that Amonte had more points in each of his two seasons than Nolan had in his only season?
Not saying that is all that a player can bring because Nolan was obviously a force out there and IMO did revitalize his career somewhat but I'd venture to say most people would say Amonte was a bust.
EDIT:
found it.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Bingo
Yeah Amonte was targeted.
He averaged what 35 points in two seasons and was a cap hit of 1.85 ... yet another guy gets God of War posters made up of him on the site had one year 2.0 cap hit and 32 points.
Sometimes, intangibles are worth more than points. I would take Nolan's 32 points and 2.0 cap hit than Amonte's 35 point average for a 1.85 cap hit 10 times out of 10.
I see Nolan as much of a success as McCarty. Both were guys that really came through in the playoffs, but the regular season was disappointing. I found Nolan to be inconsistant and he just didn't have the offensive jump that I had hoped for. In the pre-season threads, I had hoped to see Nolan in the 200+ shots range to boost his offense, but that didn't go through.
Aucoin, it depends how you see it. I saw him as a guy that was to come in and stabalize the top 4 and log big minutes, and hopefully stay healthy. Of all the expectations, the only thing he did was stay healthy. He was defensively erratic to downright frightening, and while he started as a top 4 defenseman, he ended the season as a bottom 4 defenseman. I actually thought Warraner was more reliable, as long as Warraner was healthy.
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Nolan's numbers actually dropped a fair deal from Phoenix. He had huge droughts during the season. It's just that he made a good stabilizing presence and really had that killer instinct and feeling come back to him in the playoffs.
Calgary's big successes are Kristian Huselius and Kipper.
For Amonte expectations were simply too high - he was a name player, former 50 goal guy, that some thought would put up far more impressive totals than he did.
But when you look back at it now - for what he was paid - the production wasn't bad at all...though I agree it's not just about production.
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I'm personally a believer in that Canadian players like to/prefer to play in Canada. Bertuzzi played his best in Vancouver, Cammy I believe will be an improved player playing under the Canadian spotlight.
These two aren't soft players, they'll be able to live up to expectations, and the scrutiny of player in this market, and under Keenan.
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Amonte was frustrating because of the ice time and opportunity he was given RELATIVE to his output. Watching play after play after play die on his stick when he is being put in a primary position to score was horrible and IMO undermined any energy the team was trying to generate. Made even more painful by the fact that he was left on the ice in the dying moments of every need-a-goal-now game and no matter how many posts he hit you knew he did not have the magic left to pull out a come-back goal.
Nolan was sometimes guilty of this as well, but on a deeper team it was not as painful on a night-in night-out basis.
I think you can extend that logic to a lot of reclamation players though. It is not that they don't often contribute, it is that younger players are held back from making break-throughs as long as critical moments are handed over to those 'experienced players'. Yet those 'experienced players' made a name for themselves when they were on teams that gave THEM a chance instead of old veterans.
All teams need some experience for sure, but now that Calgary has made that transition from 'young guns' to contender and Iginla and Regehr are well on their way to being 1000 game players and we have a much deeper (IMO) cadre of prospects, younger players need to be given a chance to make a name for themselves....
(And Cammalleri, who just turned 26, is hardly a reclamation project and IMO is not really in the same group as the rest of those players being discussed.)
I don't think Bertuzzi needs to revitalize his career; he's not being paid to be an all-star; at his salary, a healthy Bertuzzi putting up 40+ points, similar to last season will be him meeting reasonable expectations
And this is what Sutter himself has said.
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I think the biggest bust reclamation project was a guy that just signed a tryout deal in SJ - good ole Friesen.
Amonte wasn't horrid for what he was paid, but expectations were probably too high. Juice definitely goes in the plus column. Nolan brought lots of heart but not a lot of production - still overall a plus I'd say. Aucoin has been good. Ya, he's $4m, but would you rather have him or Finger this year? McCarty I think was a bit of a bust though. He was injured a lot, but his personal problems that he brought with him didn't help his play on the ice even when he wasn't broken.
For what Bertie is being paid, he is a good gamble. Only a 1 year term, less than $2M, and a chip on his shoulder with something to prove. That seems like a pretty safe bet.
I don't think Bertuzzi needs to revitalize his career; he's not being paid to be an all-star; at his salary, a healthy Bertuzzi putting up 40+ points, similar to last season will be him meeting reasonable expectations
agree
guy in the office had a good theory about the NHL last year and this summer ... forwards that score ... 100K a goal
No jury out on Nolan. His year in Calgary was a huge success.
I don't agree that Nolan's year in Calgary was a huge success. I'll say just average. We didn't really noticed him until he went after Scaredtoni of Edmonton. That was in a middle of the season I believed. After that I guess his game start picking up. It would have been good to see how he plays this season for the Flames but due to his contract demand I guess Sutter is not willing to gamble.
The thing about Nolan that made him so palatable was his performance in the little areas. The guy was absolutely money on the PK; when the puck was on his stick you knew it was getting out. Even-strength, same thing. He made the little plays at the blue lines so effectively. The anti-Huselius, basically.
Add to that his willingness to protect his teammates, and you have a solid player.
I think what made him popular was that he scored goals in bunches. He had those monster games where he almost single-handedly willed the team to victory. The rest of the time, he was a good foot-soldier that never hurt the team.
I don't think the same could have been said of Amonte. He was very frustrating to watch when he wasn't scoring. Geez, you could usually see the frustration on his own face... he felt the pressure when he wasn't producing.
I don't think the same could have been said of Amonte. He was very frustrating to watch when he wasn't scoring. Geez, you could usually see the frustration on his own face... he felt the pressure when he wasn't producing.
I felt bad for Amonte. I think he came here with higher expectation for himself as well, and things obviously didn't pan out. He did eventually find a bit of a niche in more of a checking role, but you don't sign a Tony Amonte to be a grinder.
As far as reclamation projects, I thought Lundmark was another one who didn't really do much of anything after his initial post-trade surge. Kind of surprised to see him back but I suppose I have to trust that Sutter knows more about these things than I do....
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The bubble guys you have listed would not fall into the bust category for me.
Amonte - offered secondary scoring, a lot of hustle and energy for a veteran player. Yes he was frustrating at times, but performed his role fairly well.
Aucoin - stayed healthy and was great on the power play. Can't argue with his offensive numbers. Defensively it was a bit of an adventure, but he was on the third pairing most nights and in that position he couldn't really do much damage.
Nolan - timely goals, nasty, a leader on the ice. Like Amonte, he performed his role and earned a big contract as a UFA.
Revitalizing Careers Boom or Bust?
