Quote:
Originally Posted by Eric Vail
Given that he is 26, I think his window as a prospect has closed. Maybe someone will offer him a two-way deal for depth in case of injuries.
I don't think he will ever be a regular NHL player.
If he was 22, I'd still see potential.
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He's putting up good numbers in the KHL and is definitely good enough to get a PTO somewhere. If he showed up at camp and hustled, I think he could get a contract.
A lot of posters are talking about how people never change. Anecdotally, I know a lot of people who were partyers who never put in work. Then made sudden changes in their mid twenties and developed into mild mannered and hard working people. So it is possible to change. Missing out on the chance to play in the NHL could be the motivation for that change he needs.
Honestly, even before the whole drug debacle, he was never consistently good. He is a big body with adequate skating and release, but not really capable of much more. People are talking about him like he has crazy playmaking or stickhandling skills. He doesn't. The NHL is always littered with big players, who feasted on smaller guys outside of the NHL, but don't quite have the skills to make it consistently in the big show.