Quote:
Originally Posted by activeStick
I think this is a neat thing to think about, actually. We've seen Huberdeau with better (perhaps arguably) talents before. Whether it be Kadri or Lindholm or whoever. Chemistry is one of those things - when it's there, it's there and when it's not, it doesn't matter what level of talent the players are. I do sort of agree that if the Flames happen to somehow find someone that Huberdeau meshes with so well that Huberdeau is back to being a annual 75+ point player, I'd lean towards doing almost whatever it takes to keep the 2 together. And this is with me believing that yes, players making 10+ million shouldn't be the ones that you cater to in terms of finding linemates and they should be the ones lifting their linemates up, but sometimes things don't work out how they should.
|
I do agree that chemistry is important, and sometimes, hard to replicate. I think the biggest stumbling block with Huberdeau is that the Flames don't play a run-and-gun system. Florida traded Huberdeau to Calgary, but Florida also drastically changed their system afterwards too. Huberdeau might have experienced a decline in Florida.
However, if Mantha does seem to rejuvenate Huberdeau, how long would you be willing to re-sign Mantha for, and how much? Would there be a guarantee that Mantha himself doesn't revert back to the player who has been often criticized and moved around after Calgary giving him his payday? That's going to be a risk there. Will Huberdeau's resurgence suffer after that?
I think there are just too many moving parts to account for. I think the best thing to do is really stop focusing on Huberdeau, and instead shift the focus to the future. Huberdeau will find his place on this team eventually with the right players. Zary and Pospisil are both young. Sharangovich is signed to 5 years after this one. Coronato and Pelletier are likely (IMO anyway) to make it. Honzek is another. Suniev. Plus other prospects that may make it that are already drafted. Then you add-in the ones that aren't drafted, but will probably end up as high draft picks i the next 2 seasons. I am not sure that Mantha will be worth the roster spot, especially when you consider how he has been criticized in the past for his lack of consistency and work ethic, so he won't fill the 'set the expectations with hard work' angle that you want a vet to do.
I would go 1 year deals on Mantha - maybe squeeze a two year deal. However, he doens't take it if he has a good season - some GM will give him more term out there. To me, the risk that he returns back to his previous level would out-weigh the upside. It would feel like a gamble still to me - a better gamble than this upcoming season will be to be fair, but also a riskier one considering the term and dollar amounts.
I find Canadian teams shoot themselves in the foot too often by giving older players too much money and term during a rebuild, or by being impatient and trying to get out of a rebuild too quickly. I hope the Flames just keep their future contracts as short as possible until they start re-signing their next core players to longer term deals. I would run with 1-2 year deals max, unless the player is young.