[Lanny_McDonald]

Originally Posted by Textcritic

Except it WASN'T several years ago. Setoguchi scored at a 20-goal pace two seasons ago. In a very disappointing season he still registered close to 30 points and he is still not yet 28-years-old.

Seriously? Setoguchi has been a bum since he was traded to Minnesota. He wasn't that good after he was demoted while in San Jose. He was so bad last season that Winnipeg, that's right, the Jets, decided they didn't want him back. No one wanted him, which is why he took the league minimum contract from the Flames just before training camps were gearing up.

And I am not talking about having a spot "handed to him." Like I said, the value of past experience and accomplishments is almost certainly part of the process in determining what players have earned.

And Setoguchi earned no contract offers, at league minimum, from any other team including the one who employed him last season.

First of all, Setoguchi's contract is not "essentially" a tryout deal. It is a one-way NHL contract. Second, the whole situation of determining the shape of the opening night roster is much more complicated than merely deciding who had the best camp. Decisions will be made factoring into consideration other things, such as what is determined to be the best (or least harmful) course of action for the prospects.

It is a league minimum contract signed just prior to the team prepping up for training camp. It is a contract the team would have no worries about burying if they had to, and a contract they could probably dump if needed to. That's essentially a try out contract. The only thing different is Setoguchi got some guaranteed money.

So I guess the best, or least harmful, course of action is to send a kid to the minors when he has stepped up and clearly beat a veteran out for a job? I think we saw how that can destroy some player's confidence, which can be a pretty substantial risk. I think Baertschi has done more than enough to earn a place on the opening day roster, especially when compared to Setoguchi. I think the kid worked his ass off all off season, even with broken ribs, and came to camp prepared to earn a job. He exceeded expectations and deserves to be rewarded. I am more than a little concerned what it would do to his head to send him down, while keeping a player who did not perform to the same level. What is best for the player here? Rewarding a highly regarded skill player, who has shown he deserves the job, or sending him to the minors to see whether a player with no upside can get his #### together?

If he looks competent once the season starts (and there is no reason to expect that Wideman will not look at least competent), then why do you "have to do something" in the event h has a poor camp?

We don't see everything that's going on in camp. Again, I suspect the measure for Wideman to make the team probably has very little to do with how he performs in camp. He is working on getting up to playing speed, and the coaching staff probably recognises that.

If he hasn't looked competent now, how is he going to look better when the season starts? Again, and you keep dodging this point, why should the team throw away games at the start of the season to see of their veterans can get their #### together? Isn't that what off-season training and training camp is for? The days of using training camp to get ready for the NHL season are long gone. The kids coming in these days are bigger, more skilled, and more mature than they have been in years gone by. If these guys come to camp and think they are not competing against these kids, well they shouldn't be on this hockey team.

The attitude of using training camp and the first 20 games of the season to get ready is out-dated thinking. That is what Iginla did for years and it drove this team into the crapper and the fans crazy. Games at the start of the season are just as important as those at the end. A win in October is worth just as much as a win in March. It is important to get out of the gate quickly and build some momentum. You can't do that when you have several players in the lineup who are still trying to 'get up to speed' or 'prove themselves' to the coaching staff. Your argument is the team should embrace a loser mentality because that is the way some guys approach their preparation for the season. I don't buy that. The team should be ready for battle come the first game of the season and that means icing a lineup of the players that showed they want to be on the team.