Quote:
Originally Posted by Azure
Ferland is also a very big hot/cold guy and a big reason the top line had long cold spells.
You can't have 1/3 guys on your top line be a streaky player. And if you moved Ferland down the lineup he cannot make an impact at all.
There is more to hockey than scoring 21 goals.
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Know what else there is more to? There is more to "streakiness" vs "consistency" than a player simple being hot/cold. A guy who is getting generous first unit power play time will probably be perceived as more "consistent" than a guy who isn't. A guy who gets a ton of 3 on 3 ice time, likewise.
I get that there were games where Ferland played bad - but there were also games where Gaudreau played bad, where Monahan played bad, where Backlund played bad. The mistake you can't make is add up "bad games" with "pointless games" and equate that to inconsistency. Most top players will go through slumps in a season just like lesser players - but their slumps will be less obvious because they'll pick up a power play assist here or there.
The reality is that very few power play units Gulutzan constructed last year were successful - despite that, Ferland did give us six power play goals in very limited time.
I'll agree that there are areas where I found Ferland's play lacking - specifically I would say he wasn't very good at deflecting point shots the way Tkachuk or previously on that line, Hudler was, and he was often guilty of making riskier passes on the breakout that had a tendency to burn him. But I don't buy that his streakiness cost his line at any point in the season any more than any player's hot/cold stretch would have.
Further, he wasn't the only "third best player on a line" in the NHL. Every team has three players constructing a line and the number of teams that had three elite players on a line can probably be counter on one hand (uh.. Boston... Winnipeg... that's about it. Even Tampa was more two players + a third).
In truth, I don't think the Flames' forward core is better today than it was should have expected to be at the beginning of last season (when Versteeg was healthy and Backlund/Frolik/Bennett didn't have the worst SH% seasons of their careers and Hathaway wasn't inexplicably a top 9 forward). While Lindholm does address a legitimate need, the acquisition came at an actual cost in terms of finishing ability as Lindholm's shot has been described by Canes fans as a "muffin" - something no one would say about Ferland's shot. I do actually like our blue line going into next season but the void is very real in our goal scoring ability. Lindholm's finishing ability at this point should not be considered better than Bennett, Backlund, or Frolik. That would place him behind Monahan, Tkachuk, Gaudreau, and Jankowski as a goal scoring threat - this isn't about whether Ferland put up numbers with good linemates - it's about the fact that Ferland's shot allowed him to put up numbers despite limited ice time. Lindholm has some potential as goal scorer, but it's not as if he's especially consistent. And for those hoping to promote Tkachuk to the Gaudreau/Monahan line, that would probably just bite deeper into the depth of the team as Tkachuk pretty much carried his line last year.