Quote:
Originally Posted by devo22
Exactly, and that's why scratching Wotherspoon and/or Nakladal (and I have zero doubt they'll both sit once Wideman is back) serves no purpose at all. If you want to know whether they have a future in this organization, you play them ... you don't scratch them for vets who are gone after next season in either case. The Flames have NOTHING on the line. I'd rather see Wotherspoon and Nakladal in each game than both Engelland and Wideman log 20+ minutes.
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I would too. But we don't always get what we want. In this case Engelland is our only defenseman that plays a physical, defensive style and because of that IMO he's unlikely to get sat the rest of this season. He's having a good year as well. It's unfair to him to sit him when he's playing well and filling his role.
I think Wotherspoon and Nakladal have already gotten enough ice time to show management what they are about. Would I love to see them more? Sure. Now Jokipakka is going to get some time as well.
One thing I don't think fans consider enough is that while the Flames don't have anything on the line, they still want to ice their most competitive team because other teams do have a lot on the line right now. How unfair would it be if we scratch a bunch of vets for rookies vs one team in a playoff race and then do the opposite vs another team in a playoff race? The only time we can really get away with icing an inferior team is vs another team guaranteed to miss the playoffs (like BUF on thurs).
I suspect we'll see Bob Hartley ice his best lineup vs teams still in the playoff race. Vs other tanking teams is when we might consider sitting a veteran for a rookie.