I loved the segment I was posting here during the exchange and texting buddies to see if they were listening and if not they should tune in. It is a subject that is extremely polarizing and I am much more on the anti advanced stats side. Having said that you could tell it was personal for Loubo as he is emotionally attached to Russell and it sounded like he was defunding a friend.
I don't think Pat antagonized the situation as much as Lou was a ticking time bomb ready to blow up on the subject.
In my opinion there is no doubt that Russell and his play has a huge divide amongst flames fans. This is a player that you have one group saying he makes his partners better. Wideman had by far his best season as a Flames let war paired with Russell. They stepped up as the top pairing when Gio went down and Russell was a beast in the playoffs. Both Duhatchek and Dcott Morrison said the same about Russell's impact with Dougie. They say that Dougie looked a lot more like the player Flames fans thought they were getting when he was paired with Russell.
You then have the crowd that pulls the underlying numbers and shows that whenever these players are paired with Russell their possession stats plummet. Even though Wideman had 56pts last year and Russell with 34 you had analytic people saying they were one of the worst pairs for possession in the whole league.
Personally I like Kris Russell and the style he plays. It is impossible not to root for him he is the definition of a warrior on the ice. Having said that there is no way the organization should committ $5M per on a long term deal to him. He has a big heart but is still undersized and outmuscled along the boards frequently. I think most fans here would prefer he be a solid #5 rather than a miscast #3. Considering the hype around a potential return I would be very disappointed in the organization of he was not traded by Monday
|