Quote:
Originally Posted by Ashasx
And if other players outperform him in practice, he should be guaranteed a spot?
At what point can you waive a guy like Setoguchi then? You have to give him some regular season games, even if 4 or 5 players deserve the opportunity more?
Somebody like Setoguchi should have just as much to prove as somebody like Agostino.
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Holy jumpin'! Practice?! Forget the more sensible thing you said earlier about young players outplaying Setoguchi in pre-season games, which was already shouted down because he should be given some regular season games to show what he can bring (rightly so for his situation), but now you're condemning a veteran NHL player to be waived, who we literally just signed a few weeks ago as a UFA, because of the way he looks in practice???!!!
Some people just have no patience for a rebuild.
This is the way to do it folks. You fill the lineup with established, low-level, NHL veterans who eat up cap space and play some minutes until the kids are ready. If a rookie can't outplay any of the guys listed above for a spot then they don't deserve to be in the NHL. Even if they're slightly better in a small sample size, you have to let them mature in a lesser league (as we've seen with Sven and other countless examples throughout the league) and let the veterans take the lumps most nights. In my mind, there are only 2 guys who have made a case to be NHL players right now, and that's Gaudreau and Bennett. You could argue that guys like Granlund, Baertschi, Ferland and others deserve to be in the NHL over some guys like Jones and Setoguchi, but you have to consider this: If they're marginally better than an NHLer right now, but could be much better with more seasoning in the minors, shouldn't you let them get better rather than stunt their growth by forcing them into the NHL before they're done baking?
When guys start plateauing in the minors, that's when you need to have a serious conversation about whether they can make your lineup better in the NHL or not. Reinhart is getting close to plateauing, so hopefully he builds on his breakout season last year. So many guys are getting closer, but still need some time in the minors. Heck, even Gaudreau needs some more time to develop his game at the pro level, but like Monahan, he can help the Flames win right now more so than almost anyone else in the system, which is why you have to consider him in the NHL. I mean Byron finally looks like a legit NHLer now, but it took him quite a while to finish his development in the AHL.
To sum up, we'd better be ok with a lot of these low level guys playing some minutes for this year and next, otherwise it's going to be a long season around here. To me, it's about effort, which is why you'll rarely hear me rag on David Jones. If you go out there and give it your best, and your best just isn't very good, well so be it. If you start dogging it and you don't help the team win, well then buh-bye. That's when you'll hear me get upset at management keeping a veteran around.