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Originally Posted by FAN
It certainly is relevant. Playing on a winning team = playoff experience. Strong playoff performers = guys you want. Guys who were major contributors to a Stanley Cup victory often command respect in the locker room. Say the Flames kept Bouwmeester and the Flames made the playoffs this season. You're Brodie and he just had a bad first playoff game, who would you listen to? Sarich or Bouwmeester?
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Strong playoff performers can also mean unsustainable performance over a small sample size (Bryan Bickell is this year's candidate). Like I said, it's a balancing act.
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You missed my point. I said "there are plenty of guys with the talent to crack the NHL but whose work ethic prevents them from reaching their potential." The point is those guys do make it to the NHL. They just don't become the players they are capable of being. An example would be someone like Semin.
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And I say that there's only a handful of these guys in the league. There are certainly examples, but I wouldn't say they're prevalent. You'd have to be a pretty special player to not really care, but be talented enough that NHL scouts overlook that in such an ultra-competitive marketplace.
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I would argue that Ovechkin WAS one of the hardest workers in the league. His work ethic has come into question precisely because he doesn't work as hard as he used to. http://http://www.sportingnews.com/n...layoff-chances
Iginla has indeed been a floater in recent years and is nothing like he was in terms of work ethic, but that can be attributed to old age as his body simply can't take the type of punishment he took when he was in his prime and stay healthy.
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That's why it's so hard to get guys who "hate to lose". How do you predict a change in effort like you've suggested happened with Ovi? Is it possible to be lose that "hate to lose" mentality?