Quote:
Originally Posted by CroFlames
Bollig and Raymond, yes. They were garbage signings at the time of signing and confirmed as the deals played out.
Brouwer and Neal, no. No one thought Brouwer's production and physical play would fall of a cliff at the time of signing. At the very least, he would have been a physical presence with veteran experience and leadership. Likewise for Neal, but he was an even bigger disappointment. Again, at the time of signing these didn't look like bad deals.
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That’s what scouting is though. It’s about forecasting what pro players can do for your team and mitigating the risks involved. Age is absolutely a risk yes, but I also think it’s a fallacy to believe that Brouwer and Neal’s games just fell off a cliff overnight. I mean, can you really just forget how to play from June to September?
I think it’s more so that these guys were just support players who relied on others to drive play and they just happened to lose out on a good situation when they switched teams. Who knows, if the team chose better free agents, maybe the team would still be vying for the Cup right now.