Quote:
Originally Posted by really?
Team was on a roll without him last year, he returns...... not so much. This year he misses time due to injury, team rolls once again. Clearly he turned up his game earlier this season, after Peters sent a message, but just because his GAS quotient has gone up doesn't make him indispensible. It's not possible to place the success with him not in the lineup totally, or even largely on him, but the win/loss total without him in the mix suggests Frolik is not as important to team success as he and his agent believe. If he's not willing to accept the role the coach assigns, maybe it is time to move on. Would be nice to keep Frolik as he is a pinnacle level third liner when playing the way he has this year, but in a second line capacity he is simply serviceable and this team will need more than that if they want to advance far in the post season.
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I do not disagree, but the 3M line is a real thing when you need to shut down a scoring line. Who are you going to use there instead of Frolik? Neal? Ryan? Bennet? Frolik was an important piece in Hawks' cup run as a 4th line grinder and penalty killer. You are going to need this aspect of his game if you are looking for a deep playoff run. But his contract doesn't look like a 4th line grinder. Compare what he brings to the team with what Ryan or Neal brings to the team, their contracts, their ice-time, their history as a Flame and how they are treated. I think Frolik is upset with this, but he is a pro and he would never said that publicly. This is what agents are for. Welsh is using Frolik's current production to his advantage. It's bussiness, nothing more and nothing less.