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Whatever advantage you think Schlemko has over Wideman defensively is not near enough to make up that grand canyon sized difference offensively.
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For the record I'm
not arguing Schlemko > Wideman,
but:
1) Among top 4 guys, Wideman is one of the worst defensemen in the league in his own zone. There was a TSN article posted yesterday that actually makes a case he is possibly
the worst:
http://www.tsn.ca/you-don-t-have-to-...ceman-1.358467
This isn't about "corsi" either, this is about shots on goal against taken in the slot and the crease per minute. Even Russell pulls out ahead of him despite being way smaller and stuck paired with him 90% of the time.
2) Schlemko's offense isn't as poor as the numbers suggest. There were many offensive plays last season that started because Schlemko was on the ice, but he did not get any credit because the puck was passed multiple times before it found the back of the net. Just watching him play you could tell his offensive impact was positive, even if he isn't the playmaker that Wideman is.
3) Overall, it's a defenseman who has a positive impact on defense, if a bit less "proven" against better competition, and a positive impact on offense, vs a player that has an overwhelmingly negative impact on defense, if a bit more "proven" against better competition, and a an overwhelmingly positive impact on offense. The net result is slightly above zero for both players but neither is a true top 3 defenseman. Both are NHLers. They bring different elements though.
4) The biggest mistake though is looking at point totals to separate players' impact. Just think back to all the offense that was generated by TJ Brodie last season where he didn't get a point, and all the offense that was generated by Johnny where Wideman just had to make the final play.
Maybe Schlemko doesn't get those Wideman points, but he genuinely did generate a lot of offensive opportunity, especially for the Stajan line, through neutral zone and defensive play as well as his basic ability to hold the puck in. You can look at a lot of our bottom 6 forwards and see how much they were struggling pretty much all year, and then when the Schlemko/Diaz showed up they all experienced legitimate boosts in their individual production. Stajan, Bollig, Shore, Ferland, Granlund all finished the season and postseason playing a lot better than they had most of the year and it wasn't by co-incidence. Does that happen if Wideman is on the bottom pairing?
Maybe, but in a cap world 5.25 million might be the difference between keeping Hudler or Russell, it's pretty tough to justify Wideman on the bottom pairing, and it's not easy to justify him on the middle pairing either. He's a tweener who's paid due to stats his overall play doesn't quite live up to.
Last year was an awesome team to watch, but it was still breakdown city. These I see these two players as High Risk, Medium Reward vs Low Risk, Medium Reward. The reward of the two players is more similar than different, the path to it is different.
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In addition, Wideman is a RH shot which makes him perfect for the second PP, an advantage I can't overstate.
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No disagreement here. But if Wideman is not a top 4 D then he can't be afforded. If Schlemko is not a top 4 D he'd have been dirt cheap.
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There was just no room for Schlemko unfortunately as there is no trade market for an injured Smid and Engelland probably isn't getting a flood of calls either.
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I agree. The fat contracts of Smid and Engelland were probably the main thing that stopped Schlemko from being kept. There also had to be space for prospects to get a chance.
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9 hits in 19 games as a Flame on a team that is playing 2 smaller skilled d-men in their top 4 ...(targets rather than hunters) Russell and Brodie....
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When you're spending most of your time with the puck, you can't exactly be the Hunter. And how many times do I have to remind you the Hawks were the team that had the least hits in the NHL last year and won the Stanley Cup?
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so, do you think BT is one of that 70%, considering he let Schemko walk for a one year 625K deal?
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Brad Treliving has a history with Schlemko that goes back to Schlemko breaking into the NHL, Schlemko playing half a season on a WCF Coyote team's top 4 against top competition. BT is anything but part of that 70%. I understand why he let Schlemko go (we have seven guys under contract) and it's also possible it was Schlemko's decision to not be a potental #8D.
What Brad thinks of Schlemko can only be known by his own comments on the guy:
http://www.sportsnet.ca/960/the-big-...ade-glencross/
18:00 forward
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"“There were times in Phoenix he was playing top-four minutes,” Treliving said. "