Quote:
Originally Posted by Flash Walken
janko is the softest player in the lineup.
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Do you have an example of Janko's softness with respect to goal scoring or goal suppression?
Or is so-called "softness" restricted to meaningless factors like hit stats, throwing crosschecks and taking boarding penalties?
Jankowski gives the Calgary Flames a better likelihood of outscoring opponents in NHL games than Hathaway, Stewart, Brouwer, Lazar, or Stajan. If he is struggling, an effort should be made to help him, rather than punish him. Especially when those struggles are not unrelated to pucks consistently dying on a certain linemate's stick. If he is struggling with center responsibilities, fine, shift him over to wing and let Shore or Bennett take on some of the tougher duties, as they've both been 3Cs on playoff teams themselves. The twelve guys who give your team the best chance to win should be the twelve guys who suit up at forward. Jankowski is easily one of our top seven forwards this season, despite some natural streakiness to be expected of someone not getting much if any power play time. Scratching him tonight is just another in a long list of Gulutzanisms that have led to the vast underperformance of this roster.