Quote:
Originally Posted by blankall
Gaudreau's positive career +/- comes almost entirely from 2021/22 under Sutter, where he was plus 64. Without that year, he's at -12. Gaudreau was -33 last year, so his career positive +/-is likely to be temporary, even with that Sutter year.
Gaudreau had the occasional highlight real takeaway, but he is not naturally a great defensive player.
Philips has plenty of speed. I'd argue he's better defensively and positionally than Gaudreau. Philips obviously doesn't have the puck possession or edge work of Gaudreau, but who has?
I still think it was a mistake not to give Philips a chance. Sutter really went from liking hard work to just liking big players, and really compromised his talent assessment skills in the process. Sutter isn't especially big himself, and the irony is that Sutter probably wouldn't give himself a chance now.
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Philips is not better than Gaudreau defensively and it's not even really that close.
Gaudreau is great at anticipating passes and stealing pucks. The reason Philips failed to make the Flames was due to his lack of size and his defensive play. I'm not calling Gaudreau a Selke calibre player but the difference between both players is quite substantial.
Philips has all the talent in the world but gets pushed around and has major problems when it comes to playing sound and efficient defense at the NHL level.