[Dion]

Another reason this type of team building bothers me is it limits options. I mentioned in a previous iteration of this column that having a sub-NHL enforcer on the 4th line every night effectively neuters that combination as useful unit. A coach can't realistically give non-tough guys trying to find their NHL legs time on the 4th line because they can can't meaningfully compete or work on their skills at 5 mins/game while dragging a goon around the ice.


From what Burke has said so far, it sounds like he plans to stock the bottom-6 with big guys, which makes the path up the roster suddenly a lot more difficult for guys like Max Reinhart, Sven Baertschi and Markus Granlund. There's no question that Burke has time for smaller dudes who can score at high rates (he traded the farm for Phil Kessel), but then not everyone leaps fully formed into the league as a guy who can obviously score at above average rates.

Furthermore, there's also the interesting long-shot, high-reward gambles who are often blocked (or at least slowed considerably) by the "big body, bottom-6" convention. The Calgary Flames organization bought out Martin St. Louis' contract in the summer of 2000 because the new regime judged him as "too small to be a checker" (he wasn't obviously a scorer in the NHL yet). Imagine how completely keeping St. Louis could have changed this organization's fortunes...

On the other hand, there's almost no real upside to player who are in the league simply because they're big. With Brian McGrattan you get...well, Brian McGrattan. With the Linus Omark's of the world (to pick a name), maybe you don't get anything more than a Waterbug who can only score in the AHL. Then again, maybe you get Brian Gionta, Theoren Fleury or St.Louis.

http://flamesnation.ca/2013/12/17/th...ess-in-the-nhl