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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It's hard for the "small softies" to play their game when they are on the ice with a defenseman that can't make a controlled zone exit though. It's pretty tough to play a skill game when you can't gain speed through the neutral zone.
I understand the benefits of adding a guy like Engelland to a rebuilding team, but the white-washing of his obvious flaws is getting ridiculous. How is he going to create space for our younger players when he is pinned in his own end the majority of the time? I don't mind the deal given the Flames current situation, but I just hope the team trends away from this type of player when the team starts winning games.