IMO, Ferland is a very unique player. Odd blend of physicality and offensive skill that isn't common. That alone makes him super valuable... typically these players don't break out until they've got a few seasons to figure it out. Yeah, he's got consistency issues but I think his deal is that he started figuring it out last year and Carolina is now reaping the rewards.
I don't think he was an easy player to give up, but the ability to manage the cap (or the anti-Chiarelli as I would call it) with Lindholm (who's got his own unique skillsets, i.e. RHS, faceoffs, etc...) makes it a pretty one-sided win for the Flames if you compared the two players with their contract situations.
|