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Originally Posted by Flames Draft Watcher
Not sure I totally agree there. Resentment may have built up from some players over Brouwer because GG played him at times when his play didn't warrant his ice time. Brouwer at 4.5 million playing half the time on the 4th line or as a healthy scratch is a distraction. And it can undermine his role as a veteran leader when his own teammates don't believe in his on ice abilities.
But most importantly management may decide that having Brouwer in the lineup merely holds back players like Lazar, Hathaway and Foo who bring much the same things Brouwer does at a fraction of the cost. If they really believe Lazar can be a great 3rd/4th line RW and Hathaway can be a good 4th line RW and Foo is close to being a 2nd/3rd line RW then where does Brouwer even fit in the lineup? He becomes a roadblock to the progression and ice time of your younger players.
I think there's several reasons besides using the immediate cap space that may mean Brouwer is bought it. I wouldn't bet on him being bought out but I think it's a solid possibility for the above reasons and the cap space reason.
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IMO we overestimate this psychological stuff. But when it comes to that I think actual players respect seniority a lot more than fans. And they probably respect Brouwer's ring a fair bit too. And I don't think they look at salaries at all when thinking about ice time. And I don't think Bennett, for example, was jealous of Brouwer's (mainly) fourth line ice time, nor was Hathaway (who did far less than Brouwer with much better linemates).