Quote:
Originally Posted by 868904
People still don't get it, whining about Engelland's first pass and zone exits and his ability.
This signing and Bollig's acquisition aren't about Engelland or Bollig or winning games next year. It's about giving the young players, especially those small softies like Sven and Gaudreau and Granlund, the room and confidence and freedom to play their game.
The added toughness is an investment in protection of these young players so they don't get ruined.
There's more to building a team than collecting all the skill players, it's not a hockey card collection.
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Not just a protection of these young players - but to wear the opposition down. We want these guys to hit people. Bollig is the kind of player who will drive into the corner hard - hard enough that players like Taylor Hall will pull the chute rather than take contact. (Seriously. One of the Chicago papers wrote an entire story about how Bollig created goals against Edmonton by scaring the crap out of Hall.) We want Engelland to be the same type of guy.
We also, of course, want these intangible benefits to at least create as much offence as any tangible mistakes cost. They are, after all, fourth line and third pairing players.