Quote:
Originally Posted by Jiri Hrdina
I'm not particularly confident in Sam based on my eye tests. I see a guy that perhaps lacks the ability to think the game at the NHL level.
However, the stats do show that he is perhaps better than the basic stats would percent.
I think Bingo has shared some of the advanced stats that show that he is more effective than points would suggest
His shooting percent was also bad last year at 7.0. Worse than Troy Brouwer.
When he scored 18 in 2015/2016 he was at 13.2%
He was 10.7% in 2016/2017
If he had been around 10.5% last year he would have had 16 goals, adding a bit of pop to the bottom 6.
I no longer see a top line forward with him. Which is too bad given projections as a junior and where he was drafted. But if he is a quality third liner that can product high teens in goals and 35-40 points, that's a good asset that can help this team win. This is particularly true if he can continue to add some jam but address the lack of discipline
I find that the views are too binary on this guy.
He is clearly an NHLer in my view, and one that can help this team. Just not the guy we all hoped for. So adjust expectations and evaluate on that basis.
The good news is that moving forward he probably fits the salary structure of the rest of the team, unless he breaks out this year, which would be a nice problem to have.
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I see Sam as a 20-35 point winger, which are are a dime a dozen in this league. We could probably sign any number of players currently available to fill that role. But maybe if another GM still sees that top 6 potential in him he could return something in a trade, which to me is where his real value is. Personally I no longer see any place for Sam in Calgary going forward, he just isn't very good.