Quote:
Originally Posted by FlamesAddiction
I don't blame Conroy for not trading Andersson at the deadline last season. I know the idea is controversial, but I'm personally not a fan of pulling the rug out from under the team when they are on the cusp of making the playoffs.
|
And they would have made the playoffs, too, if St. Louis had not taken every single point they got in that incredible streak.
I firmly believe the experience of playing meaningful and competitive hockey until the very end of the season was more beneficial to the young players on the team than any (hypothetical) increased return from trading Andersson would have been to the organization as a whole. The best way to learn to play under pressure is to play in the playoffs; the second best way is a tight race to the finish for a playoff seed.
I think we can dismiss out of hand the idea that the Flames might have traded Andersson and still made the playoffs. They went into last season with Weegar, Andersson, and a collection of third-pairing and tweener D. Replacing Andersson with yet another tweener would certainly have cost them points and put them far enough behind St. Louis to make the race a foregone conclusion.