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Originally Posted by Cali Panthers Fan
Hey Flash, I agree with this 100%, but he does show an edge at times. However, I'm not sure how much that softness has been coached into him by Gulutzan, so I'm willing to see how he responds under another coach. He certainly wasn't "soft" in Boston by any means. Not a bruiser either, but he didn't back down from contact and held his own defensively. I honestly think he's a young player who's had a bad coach for the last couple of years.
And we can talk about how points don't matter, but honestly, goal scoring is hugely important in the NHL these days, and goal scoring defensemen are at a premium. Then you factor in the reality that Hamilton has scored 16 goals which is 5th on the team, and he's 4th on the team in point production (also 4th in +/- at +1 on a team that is well in the negative in goal differential). That's a significant hole to create on a team that already struggles to score goals ranked 26th, and who only just recently eclipsed the 200 goal mark as a team.
In short, Hamilton is too important to this team to worry about small things like intangibles. He can play, and he probably needs a little different direction from a better coach.
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I wouldn't trade Hamilton, but if he had Giordano's overall level of compete he'd be one if if not the best defenders in the league.
Burns has compete which is a big reason why he is so effective.
Hoping Dougie can find that gear in the next few seasons, just not sure if it can be learned or if it is ingrained. If it is something that can't really be learned should we adjust expectations? I don't know the answer.
Just how much of that story about mccrimmon and regehr comes down to personality traits, or if you put him in a cage and poked him long enough, would he adopt that personality?
It would be a mistake to move Hamilton imo.