Quote:
Originally Posted by GranteedEV
Re: Sarich
The Flames had some talented teams back then and were held back by constantly playing Bouwmeester and Giordano with Sarich. Sarich might have had some positives that people who love physical play loved but people really forget how much of a shackle he was on overall team play. We also paid him like a top 4 guy when he should have been a third pair guy at best. He wasn't Chris Butler bad but he was a blight on this team with how we used him. The Brent Sutter era was not a pleasant era and only had a few positives and Sarich was not one of them. I don't think it's a coincidence Sarich and Hartley never saw eye to eye and while Hartley had his flaws, he was still a coach who kind of favoured the skill game like I do.
Maybe Sarich was more effective before the lockout, when you could basically bearhug guys defensively and there was no two line pass. I don't doubt it. But I never loved him in his time here and if fans of his intangibles take exception to that, it's their right but let's not act like he was Regehr or Hamonic.
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Cory Sarich's best two seasons in terms of Point Shares came with the Flames after the lockout, and he consistently had positive possession numbers while he was here (every year but the Hartley year, and only Mikael Backlund was positive that year). To say he was more effective before the lockout isn't borne out by the numbers. He wasn't Regehr, but Sarich's numbers in Calgary are similar to what Hamonic has produced while he's been a Flame.
There's just no way you can favorably compare Dalton Prout to Cory Sarich.