Quote:
Originally Posted by Enoch Root
The puck handling brings substantially more benefit than harm. It is a good thing, and the idea that it is causing our defensemen problems is ridiculous.
It causes far more problems for the forecheckers than it does for the defensemen.
You want to know what causes defenemen grief? Goalies that are crappy at handling the puck.
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ha!! you've seen me play goal!!
i also think smith's puck handling is good thing. i know someone mentioned in another thread a while back that him playing the puck also leads to 'less hits' on the d-men. even if it only reduces the hits by 4 or 5 per game, that adds up over the length of a season.
one thing i've noticed a few times is that in games where smith is very active it's almost like the opposition goalie wants to 'get in on the action' and maybe plays the puck a little more than normal which can lead to scoring possibilities for the flames