Quote:
Originally Posted by looooob
there was a time where the collective quite liked Brandon Hickey. I realize your point is we gave up a whole lot of nothing for Smith but I remaining feeling like it was an overpay at the time
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100% right - Hickey was looked at favourably from us fans and even in the organization. I still remember Treliving announcing that Hickey will be signing soon... and then crickets. Refused to sign, and Calgary eventually traded him in that package. He never did amount to anything. He is still playing in the AHL, but has a grand total of zero NHL games, so it was nothing lost. Everyone forgets about Hickey, as it was a lot less noise, but he was one of the 3 recent defencemen to refuse to sign in Calgary, with Erixon and Fox being the other two.
This organization should really focus on making sure they draft as many Western Canadian prospects as possible. Erixon from Sweden, Fox from the USA. Hickey from... Alberta? Oh wait...
I think with both Erixon and Fox, they both wanted to play for the Rangers, and essentially forced their way there. Hickey at least just wanted an easier path? I can't imagine that he would hate living in Alberta, but who knows? I do agree the Smith acquisition seemed like an overpayment at the time, but I guess time proved that it wasn't the case.