Quote:
Originally Posted by Enoch Root
It's interesting to watch the distribution of the bell curve in the poll. The bottom side (disapproval) out-weighed the top side (approval), by a fair margin at first. But the gap steadily closed, and now it has tiled the other way (more approvals than disapprovals).
And I would venture to guess that if we re-did the poll now, after people have had time to digest, and see Whitecloud in action, I would guess that it would tilt a fair bit more to the positive than it does.
On the flip side, I know there is a lot of hate towards VGS, and a strong 'anybody but them' sentiment, but upon reflection, I can't imagine that very many people could conclude that VGS won this trade: they paid a 1st, a C prospect, and a 2nd that could become a 1st, to upgrade from Whitecloud to Andersson. Andersson is clearly a better player than Whitecloud, and offense is more valuable (and rare) than defense, but is Andersson a 1st + 2nd better than Whitecloud? That's a tough argument to make, IMO.
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Add to that, Whitecloud is in a very team friendly contract beyond Rasmus' expiry. It was never so much about Rasmus' age, it was about he hunting for his big long term payday which doesn't line up with the window the Flames are trying to frame. NHL defensemen usually don't show what they are going to really be until 27 years old, so people b!tching about 29 years are missing the mark, IMHO.
I would like to see until the trade deadline how Whitecloud fits in. Yesterday was a pleasant surprise, but it shouldn't be that surprising. Everyone thought Bahl was a unnecessary throw in too.
Weegar is the one I am most unimpressed with. He looks beleaguered and defeated most times. If he is playing through an injury we don't know about, now would be the time to pull him and address it. Trade Treliving a bargain basement D, Pachal, Hanley, or Bean if possible. Trade Lomberg if possible. Keep evaluating.