I voted Wait and See when he was signed and unfortunately my suspicions have been confirmed. But he is signed and as an optimist I hope his contributions to team chemistry and culture on/off the ice are helping the team to the recent success. His track record of successful teams can continue even if his ice time and role changes, and it seems Peters roster management will not make the same questionable ice time decisions Gulutzan made with Brouwer. (...then again I recently saw Brouwer being used in the dying minutes of a Panthers game and realized he must have some redeeming skills/quality that another coach has fallen for too...)
Either way, as long as the Flames are winning I’ll give a little credit to Neal’s intangibles as value on such a polarizing contract.
|