Quote:
Originally Posted by Jiri Hrdina
Kuz is really hard to gauge, because even when he's producing he's far from a complete player. And he needs PP time and offensive starts to be effective. I think he's a tougher fit for a lot of teams.
I say that as a fan, who is hoping he stays here. He's really entertaining and cracks me up.
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Yup, agree with you, including me also hoping he stays. Last game was a good example of why players like Kuzmenko are valuable. Putting his 5 points in 4 games aside, it's a close 1-1 game where the next goal makes a huge difference. In past years, the Flames struggle to get that next goal and Chicago gets it and who knows what happens then. But Kuzmenko scores a crucial goal (on the PP to boot) to loosen the team up and helps push the Flames to the win. That's the value a high-skill guy that scores in key moments does for a team and makes it worth it when yes, some of these players also come with a lot of warts.
Mantha is going to be an interesting case for me. The Flames haven't been shy about directly targeting him to get their 10+ million dollar man going, so if he indeed gets Huberdeau back to 70ish points or dare I say over 90 points, you got to believe he's going to have some leverage. It's then that you hope a guy with his history and cycling through the number of teams that he has, understands that chemistry and situations matter and he does what works for him and the Flames.