I'm more concerned about Hamilton at this point. It's odd. His advanced stats and regular stats look really good. He's on pace for another 40 point season. His corsi for percentage is the highest it has ever been as a Flame.
I feel like fans of teams that don't watch the Flames regularly would love to have Dougie on their team. 40 plus points a year. 24 years old. 5.75 million contract for 4 more years. 6'5". Great advanced stats.
This my breakdown of Dougie Hamilton with the puck in his own end of the ice:
25%: Has time > breakout pass to the forwards knees/out of reach > ends up as an icing
25%: Has time > holds on to the puck too long > telegraphs pass to opposing forwards > interception
25%: Gets forechecked hard > coughs up the puck
20%: Has time > Makes a solid outlet pass / the forwards are skilled enough to accept his errant pass
5%: Gets forechecked hard > Makes a solid outlet pass / the forwards are skilled enough to accept his errant pass
That breakdown is not meant to be taken entirely seriously, but Hamiltons forced and unforced giveaways are higher than any other dman on the team. It is frustrating because he has the physical tools to be a lot better.
Maybe my perceptions/memory is off, but I remember Gio-Brodie being called one of the best pairings in the league. I remember people having a debate over whether Brodie was better than Gio. I don't get nearly the same vibe with Hamilton-Gio. I think everyone is an agreement that Gio is a better defenceman than Hamilton. To me, that is very telling that there hasn't even been a debate.
IMO, Brodie has shown he has the potential to be a top pairing defenceman with Gio. I haven't ever felt that way about Hamilton, even on the stretches when he's rolling in points.
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