Quote:
Originally Posted by TSXCman
It's funny how much people think in the extremes! Kris Russell is a bad defenseman?? No, he is having a hard time getting signed, but he is in a place where he doesn't hold much leverage but would still like some control of where he goes and for how much.
He is good #4 Dman with some strong defensive awareness and shot blocking obviously. He will end up somewhere, hopefully better than Edmonton too.
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I cannot figure out how people are prepared to trash Russell as being such a 'bad' (or insert other derogatory term here) hockey player. The guy made an NHL roster in his first try at age 20 after two World Junior golds, two WHL Defenceman of the Year awards, a WHL Player of the Year and a CHL Defenceman of the Year award.
As a pro he has played 29 games not in the NHL, 15 of which are in Europe during an NHL lockout (so those don't really count) and 14 in the AHL in his second year as a pro.
In 2010 and 2012 he played for Canada at the World Championship.
He only needs 27 games to hit 600 in the NHL.
If we cut the inexplicable trashing, Kris Russell is a phenomenal hockey player who has never stopped giving every ounce of his being when he plays since he was cut from Red Deer Midget AAA because he was supposedly too small for that league.
An NHL GM absolutely needs to approach a Russell contract carefully, and because of his size there will always be some additional questions about where he can be most effective. At any given time I think he is and always has been on the verge of his last NHL contract, while at the same time, he is also potentially on the verge of his best showing in the league.
I know technically this is the case for any player, but I think high potential and high risk of not meeting that potential in any given year is why there seems to be such a disconnect for Russell. It is because he is such an incredible hockey player that he nets a huge return at trade deadline and gets speculation of a UFA 5 x 5 contract as a 'given', all while his fancy stats look bad and he is only a few seasons removed from having cleared waivers.
The appropriate dollar value and term for what he can accomplish in today's NHL given his size and current age are completely legitimate things to debate. But people who call him a bad hockey player do not know much about the game of hockey or the quality of hockey players.
It is just as likely under a new coach and different system that Russell could have a career year as it is that he would make you regret having signed him.
I can understand people wanting to move on and not revisit him on the Flames roster but not on the basis that he is not a good player.