Simply saying Stone is a #5 and therefore $3.5M is too much, is incredibly short-sighted IMO. Some reasons why it's beneficial to have a solid #5:
1) Injuries, which has been thoroughly covered
2) Ice-time - it's a long season. Lots of people talking about the top 4 all playing 25 minutes each so that they could run with 2 kids on the third pair. Brutal asset management IMO. Having a #5 that you can count on means less ice-time for the top 4, keeping them fresher and healthier.
3) PK - Stone is great on the PK and being able to play him there means less PK time for the top 4, allowing them to be utilized more in better situations
4) Mentoring the #6. With a more trustworthy partner, the bottom pair can be given more ice-time, adding to the points above
Having a great #5 doesn't just mean having a good third pairing. It also helps keep the top 4 fresher and allows for them to be utilized more for key situations.
It absolutely amazes me that people don't like this acquisition. Would $2.5M been better? Sure. But $3.5M isn't bad, and the team is way better - much much deeper - for it.
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