Quote:
Originally Posted by Jore
i've always liked kulak. he's consistent and makes good plays with the puck in transition, and rarely gets caught out of position or beat outright. however, i don't think he's irreplaceable, especially with guys like kylington and välimäki pushing for spots.
with that said, i wish the same principle of cap management and hard bargaining had applied to guys like stone and brouwer, who are eating 8 mil of dead cap while being among the worst regulars on the roster, whose contracts appear to be making extending hanifin to a longer term deal difficult, and, in the case of stone's contract, has driven the team to waive a young, capable nhler who's already at worst equivalent in actual on-ice impact.
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Agreed. And no, no one is holding a gun to their head to sign a Brouwer or a Stone, even if they are UFAs they were not impact players even when they were signed.
Anyways the following, for whatever it's worth, sort of highlights why I already think Kulak is a useful player. It's not as obvious as blocked shots or assists like it might be with other players, but you can get an idea for what is visually observable as "play driving". Among the sample of 192 defensemen who were examined in the ice time sample,
Of course he's not a star player or even a major impact player, but these things allow him to make a net-positive impact. I hope he clears waivers.