Quote:
Originally Posted by Itse
Just to comment on Hagman:
It's weird to hear all this inconsistency talk, considering that everytime I've seen him play for Team Finland, he's been an absolute stud. Yeah, not the greatest sniper you'll see, but total effort every shift, every situation, everywhere. He's basicly the prototype (among others) of why Team Finland has kept overachieving in the highest level (olympics/world cup): total commitment.
That said, I can totally understand why he hasn't been like that at the Leafs, and besides, age tends to mellow people down. Still, I think a lot people here will like Hagman.
About the trade overall, I think this just shows that Sutter wasn't kidding when he was talking about how hard it is to make midseason moves these days. You can scratch all of West as trading partners right from the start, as nobody on this side wants to give the Flames anything that would help them make the playoffs. (Except maybe Edmonton, but I think we can agree that wasn't happening.)
From the Eastern conference, nobody that's doing well and with a head on their shoulders would touch a Phaneuf-trade, because nobody has that kind of offenside depth, and nobody wants to risk taking in a rumoured cancer with a huge salary. Deal like that could ruin a team trying to make the playoffs.
There's only two team out of the playoff picture in the East: Carolina and Toronto. We don't know what Carolina offered for Phaneuf, but I'm not shocked that it wasn't better than what we got from Toronto. And say what want about Torontos plugs, that team has scored more goals than this team, and how sad is that...
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I agree with most of what you say, but:
Hagman at $3M is not tremendous value. He's decent, I tend to believe that ~25 goal scorers at his age and cap hit are available for a guys like Sarich + Aulie.
I really hope Stajan doesn't turn into Lombardi #2. However, if he's good with the puck (can hold onto it and dish it off with right timing; something VERY few current Flames forwards can do) he can do well playing with Iginla. That being said, he's UFA which naturally lowers his value. Plus there's always the possibility we won't be able to re-sign him.
White to me is a wildcard, how often do small offensive defender blossom in the West. If he can skate and move the puck well, he can be the bright spot of this trade.
To sum it up: 30yo guy with questionable trade value (I like him, but he could be had cheaper), UFA and a cheap wild card with inflated offense numbers.