Quote:
Originally Posted by transplant99
Hanifin is criminally under rated/appreciated around here. Has been since the day the Flames acquired him.
Since he came into the league he is top 40 league wide in GP, pts, assists, etc, while playing on middling teams.
Now he is hitting his prime and so many want to run him out of town instead of making him a cog in this re-tool the club is clearly in the midst of.
Now if he is choosing to test UFA then yeah, they have to deal him. They are losing a really good player though and one that is going to be almost impossible to replace internally and will cost a bundle to replace other ways.
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For me it come down to the question of - what is Hanifin without Tanev? It's kind of similar to the Gaudreau - Monahan question, but which of the two D is the straw that stirs the drink on that pairing?
I have questions about Hanifin's ability to shut down top guys when he's not paired with Tanev. Hanifin - Weegar was terrible when Andersson was suspended.
Hanifin Andersson often has Hanifin reverting to a more defensive role. That results in less offense from Hanifin. Also, that pairing really struggled at shutting down EDM in the playoffs. Which reaulted in Hanifin having a +/- of minus 11. They also had a couple of good years together, but somehow that pairing unraveled when the games got tough.
At a 7.5 cap hit I would love Hanifin to be able to drive his own pairing, and have more chemistry with the RD we have. Hanifin is a pretty good D, and having guys like Oesterle and DeSimone in the lineup made me really appreciate what he does, but I want him to take another step to be worth that 7.5 number.