Quite frankly, the Flames need the bottom 6 space to develop players.
Hathaway was a solid worker, but he always seemed like the king of Vanilla. He threw a lot of hits, according to the stats, but rarely were these ever big or impactful hits. He was willing to fight, but also lost a lot of those fights. I doubt that any opposing team member was ever worried about Hathaway's physical presence.
I'd rather see our bottom line filled with guys like Mangiapane, Ryan, Dube, or even Czarnik. I just feel like those guys bring a lot more energy to their game and/or have much more room for improvement.
As much as I respected his style of play, it was bad for the development of players like Bennett and Jankowski. There was never really any desire to set up plays. It was very reminiscent of the 2005-2015 Flames grind it out style of play.
I wish the best for Hathaway. He always put in a solid effort, and it's good to see him get a multi-year deal and some security. However, he was in no way a difference maker. I can see why the Flames would be unwilling to match a 4 year deal.
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