Quote:
Originally Posted by GranteedEV
Kind of crazy they managed that with Hathaway scoring only four goals. Just replacing Hathaway with a guy like Frolik, and perhaps switching center roles (IMO Bennett has shown to be more defensively sound at the position than Jankowski and more able to transition out of the defensive zone) and I think they could really break out.
On the other hand, the huge gap between those two and Lindholm in actual points shows how much things like power play usage and ice time influence perception.
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We agree on that. PP time has a large effect on actual point totals. It's why I like to look at 5v5 PT/60 to try and gauge how effective the player is.
Hathaway was an anchor last year on that line both statistically (1.18 PT/60 5V5) and by the eye test.
To me Hathaway's RW spot is the hinge position to improve for the Flames to have success next year. If our roster includes a top 6 player in Hathaway's old position, we are a much much deeper team with a lot more options for line combinations. I think in that scenario you see Bennett and Jankowski improve 5v5. If they get PP time as well, we are talking about them breaking at the end of next year. If we only manage to acquire a top 9 guy we will be improved to a lesser degree but should still have stellar defense in that scenario.