Quote:
Originally Posted by Vulcan
He was a top 4 last season on this team but he has some serious liabilities size wise. Yeah for a defenceman he is very, very, very short. He can't handle the big forwards with their cycle which was demonstrated against the Ducks and as has already been discussed there is a reason he needed to block so many shots. With the Hamilton acquisition he's only top 5 now and we don't need to pay a top 5 top 4 money or we'll get in serious cap trouble.
One thing our current management has been doing is overpaying some middling vets such as Raymond and Stajan. We don't want to make the same mistake with Russell as cap management is changing towards paying the stars top money while the rest get closer to the minimum. We saw this off season play out with middling UFA players having to sign for much less than previously or even get a contract and this trend will continue.
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He had the best plus/minus on the team last year, playing mostly against other teams top lines. He's able to use his speed, skating, and high IQ to his advantage.
He is also 28 years old just entering his prime.
Don't know what you are smoking. This team would be a lot worse without him.