Quote:
Originally Posted by ComixZone
I don't think the coaching staff has earned the right to be above criticism on player usage.
1st line produces, team wins 2 games in a row since change happened.
Get RHS waiver wire pick-up, let's just go ahead and disrupt the 1st line and oh yeah - that young player you're developing, let's just demote him when he's earned the right to continue to play on that top line because that's how we reward youth on this team.
Should we also expect to see Stewart on PP1 while Dougie gets shuffled back to PP2?
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Yeah, I just don't get it.
You've got a player in Bennett that's still got a lot of potential, but he's not good enough to consistently produce offence from anywhere in the lineup, and he's heavily affected by confidence. So you give him a try on the top line and he looks great. As someone that wants to see Bennett break out more than any other player on the Flames, I'm thinking "finally, he's earned an extended look."
So it's jarring to see that taken away despite Bennett's good play. And I really don't see the upside in putting Stewart there - the guy's an inconsistent depth scorer that spends a ton of time in his own zone. For a team that relies on our top line as heavily as we do, we can't afford for them to go cold. And if the RHS is a big deal, why didn't we see Brouwer, Lazar or Hathaway promoted in Ferland's absence? It's not like we had a shortage of mediocre righties to promote.