I am not sure who or who doesn't like Pelletier around the league, but exposing him to waivers at this stage is an unnecessary gamble. We don't know who Pelletier really is at this point since Sutter didn't play him much, and then last year was a disaster with injuries. He was way better than expected offensively in the AHL in his rookie pro season.
Why expose Pelletier to keep Duehr, or Rooney, or whomever that will not be a part of the organization 2-3 years from now? Keep Pelletier up, put him in a position to succeed and see if he succeeds. Meritocracies are great, but this team isn't competing.
Huska has to balance out giving players a chance to succeed and prioritizing their development with rewarding players for their play. It is a tricky balance to be sure, but I thought he did a fairly good job last season.
Pelletier might be the next Paul Byron. Sure, I wouldn't call that a cornerstone, but there were many people here on this forum that were not happy when Byron got placed on waivers, and there were many people saying that we were all worried about nothing since nobody was going to claim him. It took one team with an injury to claim him. Montreal ended up having a productive player for a while, and Calgary got to keep.. Brandon Bollig. Who got more out of whom?
Pelletier is bigger than Byron. Pelletier is also a beloved guy in the room by all accounts, just like Small Paul was. It only takes one team with a bit of a concern on LW depth, or a team that liked Pelletier, or even just a team that gets a couple of injuries in the preseason and uses the waiver wire to patch things up. Unless the Flames KNOW that Pelletier has no future here, then you keep him and expose guys who you know won't be part of the solution beyond the next year or two.
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