Quote:
Originally Posted by zunie75
Do we really know that? Did anyone actually watch 82 panther games a season while he was in Florida? I think we all just bought into the hype.
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I watched many panther games (they are my 2nd favourite team) when he was on there. The only difference since he was a Panther is that he doesn't jump into the play as much as he did then. He was always passive somewhat. He was basically meant to be a better defensive version of Dennis Wideman because that's what he was in Florida.
However, since then I suppose Sutter wasn't a fan of his sneaking in off the point leaving it open and he stopped doing that effectively neutering him in the process. Unfortunately that habit has stuck and if he's not getting points he's not going to be worth the money in anyway shape or form.
It's disappointing, but we're likely stuck with him for the duration when we can finally be liberated from the huge boat anchor that he has become both financially and in terms of results.
Defensively, he's about what an average 3/4 defenseman should be. Nothing to write home about but not terrible. The offensive skill pushed him into the 1/2 range and the money he received. That creates two problems as he's slightly over matched playing as much as he does if he doesn't offset that deficiency with the points he produced.