Czarnik has an excellent game... out of every 10 or so he plays. He is also very one-dimensional.
It is more than fair to criticize Jankowski, but at least he provides some defence/PK ability, decent face-off stats, and if you really look, he is definitely underrated in playmaking. Now his stats absolutely suck, but hopefully this is the start of a turn around. He has had two full seasons of 'proving himself' and scoring at good rates, especially considering how the Flames utilize him and how much ice time he sees. This year has completely dried-up, but I would rather see him through the year and onto the next, just to make sure it just isn't an 'off year'. Czarnik is in no way an upgrade I think, and I really wanted to like him (and did for some stretches). He is simply too much of a tweener. I would actually prefer to see Phillips given a shot over Czarnik in the future.
As for the Hamonic thing that Francis is pushing - either he is out to lunch or he working with Treliving in trying to promote Hamonic's value. That's the only thing I can think of. I can't see the Flames re-signing him (especially for a raise). Brodie is much more important to the Flames, and so is Andersson. He isn't going to get a raise playing 3rd pairing minutes, and his play in itself is not deserving of a raise (IMO). Great guy, great intangibles, and a person that the Flames will for sure miss when he is gone, but not a guy that you re-sign for a raise on a multi-year deal. I just don't see it.
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