Not Brouwer's fault tonight. They gave him his assignment, and he did the best he could under those circumstances (which is decent, but he should never be the forward on a 3-man penalty kill).
With that being said, I think there have been some games this season that Brouwer deserved to be scratched, but he has been better this year than last year. I don't find myself complaining too much about Brouwer. I do think that he is hurting the 2nd line somewhat right now (honestly would rather have Lazar and see if Backlund can get him going - plus Lazar has the wheels to get in on guys on the forecheck), but as a 4th liner he has been mostly good.
It does make me wonder, however, if this isn't Brouwer's last NHL contract. Even at a low dollar/low term contract, I think I would rather have someone that is faster, and/or consistently grittier and difficult to play against. Brouwer has been 'fine' and sometimes actually 'good', but I do think he is replacement level at this point. Not hurting a team necessarily, but not doing too much to help either. Just 'meh' for me, with occasional games in either direction.
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