Quote:
Originally Posted by Erick Estrada
Seriously? Two different coaches both deemed him too terrible to be in the lineup despite him costing the owners a fair bit of coin to sit. The guy is not an NHL defenseman end of story. It would have liked to see him on the team full time the moment they traded Iginla so the Flames may have had a few less points in the standings and a better shot at drafting 1st overall.
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The guy IS an NHL defenseman and has been for some years. Just because he is not good enough to be a top 4 defenseman and too inconsistent to stay in the lineup on a regular basis doesn't mean he's not an NHL defenseman. As disappointing as he has been, he pretty much came as advertised. He's a PP specialist simply because he has a good shot. He's a big defenseman with good offensive skills and a booming shot. That's pretty much it. He can be an offensive producer but he's a defensive liability, streaky, and inconsistent in his efforts so he is going to sit from time to time. He needs to play sheltered minutes and be on the PP, but the Flames don't have the luxury. I still think he can be a 5th defenseman in the NHL and definitely a 6th/7th defenseman who can come into the lineup and play on the 2nd PP and offer an offensive element, but Babchuk won't be happy with that because he thinks he's better than that. Babchuk should be used like Marc-Andre Bergeron. It's a mistake for Feaster to think that Babchuk would suddenly mature into a top 4 defenseman.