Quote:
Originally Posted by Cali Flames Fan
It's more about getting return on an asset that had no value left. Whether you like enforcers or truculent hockey isn't as important as improving the team slowly by winning deals. It's not a big deal, but considering what we gave up, getting Westgarth back is quite an amazing feat. I'm well aware of what he brings, but Nemisz was barely going to get you a 6th or 7th round pick at this point, and you would likely not find a guy like Westgarth in those rounds, never mind his experience level which is already better than Nemisz's.
Whether you like the return or not, it's still better than a bag of poop which is what most teams would have given for Nemisz at this point in his career. While I'm not a particular fan of loading up on goons or beefy guys, but I understand that we are seriously short of anyone who has decent size on either the NHL or AHL rosters. This is just to add some depth of guys who could play NHL hockey if called upon. I doubt Nemisz will ever see the NHL again, so this is definitely an upgrade IMO.
|
I would have been quite happy if we had gotten a draft pick in return. One less player and salary as a cap hit. Sometimes you can find a diamond in the rough with a 6th or 7th round pick - just look at Detroits drafting history.
I like Burke's idea of this team getting bigger and tougher. It would be nice if we could return to the days of the 80's where teams feared playing in the Dome. It's going to take time patience to get us to that point and my fear is Burke is looking for quick fixes.