Quote:
Originally Posted by Erick Estrada
There's really no point in buying him out as that won't make the Flames better having to find a replacement for his roster spot while dealing with the massive dead cap hit. The Flames just have to hope that this is a Jeff Skinner type of situation where his game goes away for a couple of seasons and then comes back. Also since he's going to be around for a while there will be time to try and find him a center or winger that he has chemistry with. As painful as this situation is, there's really no quick fix or way out and it's just a matter of taking it year by year. As bad as things look I have to think that he's going to have some better years in the future.
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Yeah, and if they are truly rebuilding, his cap hit isn't an issue while they go about it. When they are closer, that's the time to consider retention or buyout (which is hard anyway given the structure). And maybe he bounces back like you say - I think he's better this year as far as line effectiveness goes.
By all accounts he's not a pouter or a bad guy in the room, kids like Pelletier like him, he doesn't shy out of scrums for teammates, he's not a defensive liability (surprisingly good actually), so aside from not producing enough, he's not hurting - just not helping enough.