Quote:
Originally Posted by monkeyman
Thanks, added him as depth.
Signing veterans is going to limit the number of prospects they'll be able to graduate. I think if I were a Canucks fan, I'd prefer to gamble on some of the prospects, rather than fill positions with stop-gaps. And perhaps, being the Sedins final year, you'd think they'd want to expose the young guys to them as much as possible.
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Prospects need time to develop in an atmosphere where they aren't thrown to the wolves. This is a lot like the signing of Hudler in 2012, it provides time for the prospects to develop in a less stressful environment. It is a one year contract so it doesn't stifle development in the future, it just allows them to develop on their own time - rather than forcing them into playing above their heads in an environment where they demand victories.
At the same time, teams need to provide something for the fans to cheer for, if you roll with 4 lines of AHL players, it will get a better draft pick, but it won't get fans into the seats.
As for the Sedins, they are players who developed on their own time, they were behind Naslund, Bertuzzi and Morrison until 2005-06 where they blossomed into legitimate first line players. It just takes time, not everyone can be a McDavid/Matthews who can dominate at 18-19 years old.