Quote:
Originally Posted by bigrangy
Nakladal is better at playing defense than Wideman, Russell, Jokipakka, and Engelland.
It pains me that the Flames' 4th best option at defense is simply being let walk because of Wideman/Engelland/Smid's horrible contract situations.
Imagine if the Flames were able to keep Schlemko. We wouldn't be stressing out wondering whether or not Jokipakka/Wotherspoon/Kulak will be able to keep up in the top 4 next season. The time to start competing is now while Bennett and Tkachuk are still on ELC's, and I'd feel a lot better about the Flames' chances to compete if they had a Schlemko-Jokipakka-Nakladal bottom three than the Smid-Wideman-Engelland disaster they're currently paying.
Also, wow, 625k. That is a great contract. Hopefully Spoon can find himself a spot on the roster this year.
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I think we need a larger sample size to evaluate Nakladal. I don't think 27 games in garbage time is nearly enough to make a compelling case either way. However, so far it would appear all NHL GMs disagree with your assessment and don't view him as an NHL-caliber defenseman. Otherwise, in a year where Russell is one of the best UFA defenseman options, it makes no sense why one of the other 29 teams haven't taken a chance on him yet. I can't imagine he is looking for a Schlemko-type deal, unless he has the worst agent ever. The fact that he hasn't secured a deal yet makes me think that most GMs think he is nothing special (not worth a one way deal).