Quote:
Originally Posted by Enoch Root
The same things were said about Hamonic last year. The team can afford to be patient.
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I don't think it was necessarily Hamonic who was the issue last season. Brodie definitely dragged that pairing down with his play. Hanifin has done a considerably better job this season as Hamonic's partner which in turn has helped Hamonic's game.
It's not like I think Neal has lost his game. He has 10 straight 20 goal seasons. I've just seen enough of him on this particular team. I keep saying it's just not a good fit. The styles clash. We don't have the right players that can help make Neal successful and it would be too costly and not worth it to find those guys for him.
There's a reason Elias Lindholm who's never even sniffed 20 goals before has been leaps and bounds better than Neal this season. He plays a certain style that happens to suit this team whereas I don't think Neal does and numbers certainly speak for themselves. Lindholm is on pace for 41 goals while Neal is on pace for 7. That's worlds apart.