Quote:
Originally Posted by Waldo
I know there is a ton of value in the advance stats, and I have bought into them myself. But it would always grind my gears when certain Flames media writers would discredit intangibles and act as if they weren't really a thing. It was a big topic during the Brouwer signing and while he was not a great player the intangibles are so important for the rest of the team.
I'm glad Neal has found another way to contribute and I am sure he and the rest of the team will take it up a notch come playoff time.
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I think part of it is the vague definition of ‘intangibles’. You could easily argue that while you believe intangibles are important, Brouwer didn’t bring them, at least in the way that was expected. And because intangibles are even more closely dependent on interpersonal relationships/chemistry than pure skill, it’s never a guarantee that they translate between teams. Hendricks apparently was the glue in Edm but would be an afterthought on most other teams.
I think it takes guys of Jagr’s and even Neal’s status to automatically inherit that respect from teammates. But the league has demonstrated time and again that ‘rough and tumble’ intangibles trail off well before they play themselves out of the league, and if they aren’t aren’t a trusted leader in other aspects, the player just isn’t effective (eg Lucic).