Quote:
Originally Posted by TheScorpion
Game-winning goals aren't a reliable stat on which to judge players, they fluctuate heavily from year-to-year. Same with plus-minus.
And it's great that Kulak is performing well, but I venture that, given a similar opportunity, Hanifin, Valimaki, and even Kylington would perform just as well, especially playing with a defenseman as good as Shea Weber (as Kulak did). Heck, look at what Rasmus Andersson did playing with Giordano this year. That's essentially what Kulak did, to a lesser extent, playing with Weber.
The point is, there is very little room at the NHL level in Calgary for a player like Brett Kulak. Who would he play with, and where? Would he be mediocre on the third pairing again? He certainly wouldn't have the benefit of playing with an All-Star partner. All he'd be doing is sucking up ice-time from better bets like Kylington and Valimaki, players with much more runway and potential for the future.
It's like saying the Flames should have kept Hathaway instead of giving more opportunity to Mangiapane and Dube. Sure, it might have been preferable not to lose Hathaway for nothing, but at the end of the day, it clears out a logjam and allows the Flames to promote guys who have higher upside.
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Nope, you're wrong. In the last 40 games of the season Kulak did not see any ice time at all with Shea Weber as his partner. Guess he might be a little better than you're giving him credit for?
Quarter Line Combination
First quarter: Did not play
Second quarter:
KULAK,BRETT - WEBER,SHEA
BENN,JORDIE - KULAK,BRETT
KULAK,BRETT - PETRY,JEFF
Third quarter:
BENN,JORDIE - KULAK,BRETT
KULAK,BRETT - REILLY,MIKE
KULAK,BRETT - PETRY,JEFF
Fourth quarter:
KULAK,BRETT - PETRY,JEFF
FOLIN,CHRISTIAN - KULAK,BRETT
BENN,JORDIE - KULAK,BRETT