Quote:
Originally Posted by burnitdown
I don't think your numbers really prove much. Randomly picking 5 teams doesn't eliminate bias, especially when you don't end up with any top 10 teams.
Also, using TOI of the 4th-6th ranked forwards from other teams is an odd way to find comparables, given Frolik wouldn't have been chosen from the Flames using this method (he was 7th in TOI).
Having said all that, I don't think your conclusion is that far off. He's a 35-45 point player and looking league-wide, that probably is enough to warrant a 2nd line job somewhere. Might be more of a 3rd line player on contending teams though, so his $4M salary is a bit prohibitive for those teams (which are the ones perhaps most likely interested in a guy like him).
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That is exactly where a 2nd line player would be on average.
F's 94-186 ( 3 2nd liners from each club) spanned 51 pts down to 33 pts. He was on a 44 pt pace if playing all 82 and that was without ANY PP time to speak of. Of course we will get the "yeah but he scored points on an empty net" crap.... which ignores that all the good players do.
He is a solid 2nd line winger, and there really is no way around it.
Now, should he be dealt for an upgrade? Sure, why not? Everyone should be if an upgrade is available.
I dont think you deal him just because though. The team is short on RW's who can play top 2 lines...in fact going off last year they have no one else. Lindholm is a C and im sure they want to see him there this season if possible. Bennett was certainly not the answer there and Neal was a complete tire fire. This is where the Zucker thing made sense.
So IMO, they look at dealing Frolik for sure but only if they can get a RW to play on the top unit, upgrade and add some sandpaper on the 3rd line C, which moves Jankowski to wing and Ryan plays where ever else there is a hole in lines 2/3/4....which is all going to depend on Neal getting back to what he was signed to do.
Its really a bit of a mess for a team that had tremendous success offensively.
I don't question Bill Peters coaching last year except when it came to how Frolik was used...it just didnt make sense to me that he was the guy to be sat and demoted to 4th line duty etc. Its why Walsh was tweeting what he did. However ive been around enough to know that when new guys come in there is inevitably someone who is affected more than others and it was Frolik this time.
As for Brodie, i dont think there is any way he is back unless Hamonic is dealt which I see almost zero possibility of happening. Team D was soft as it is and losing Hamonic puts them in limp noodle territory.