Quote:
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Originally Posted by D'Arcy McGrath
"Earlier in the day I heard an interview with McGrattan about the lack of fights on his recent appearance list, and he hinted they happen more as the year goes on, and that he doesn’t have to go looking for them, they need to come to him. Is that wise? If I’m a fourth line fighter on a team that is gaining success as a four line team, wouldn’t it make sense to get in a dust up and show the coaching staff how you can manufacture energy for your team? Does to me. He can’t stay in the lineup scoring, or playing a shut down roll, and he doesn’t have the foot speed to get in on the forecheck and cause mayhem."
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We all knew the day would come when McGrattan became an obsolete player for this team. Playoff teams play well with the puck, and win by playing well, without depending on the on-ice momentum shifts that potentially can occur following a fight. Teams with middling skill and who struggle to score and to win are those that seem to require and benefit from the presence of an enforcer like McGrattan. The problem for McGrattan is that the Flames are becoming a good enough team that they no longer need him. Not only do they not require the kinds of momentum shifts that he occasionally once provided, they also are proving to be too good of a lineup for him to crack, period.
So. Should McGrattan go looking for fights in an attempt to get noticed? The problem here is not so much one of will on his part, but opportunity generally. The team is good enough that the momentum shifts are becoming less and less necessary. And when they are needed, the Flames are proving that they are a skilled enough group to generate that shift entirely on their own ability to play well. The problem for McGrattan is that positive momentum shifts are occurring with rapidly increasing regularity without him. And then when he is on the ice, he is not capable of playing the same kind of game at the same level and speed as the rest of the team to sustain puck possession.
It is too bad for him. Especially because he is a good guy and is enormously popular in the room. But the Flames don't need McGrattan any more, and there really is nothing he can do about that. I personally hope he gets traded to another club—not because I don't like him, but because he probably still can be moderately useful on another team that can't survive on their ability to play hockey at a consistently high level. Unfortunately for McGrattan, there are not many teams in the NHL for whom he is good enough to play.