Quote:
Originally Posted by saillias
If he'd sign here I'd take him in an instant.
He's a talented winger we need more of those.
The competition in this league is too strong to operate on a moral high horse all the time like this.
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True, but chemistry is often the most overlooked thing when it comes to building a team from a fans' perspective. We all see the stats and numbers and assume it's an automatic fit. But rarely does it ever come down to strictly that.
I just see Radulov as a guy who messes with the team chemistry. I see him head butting with Hartley from day 1 and being in the dog house. I see him and his agent 'demanding' top 6 ice-time without having earned it and sulking if he gets bumped down.
Having said that, he's a true talent and might have great chemistry on the 1st line. I'd probably be fine with a 1 year 'prove it to me' deal and see where that leads afterwards. But I have a feeling the people who want him here based on strictly his skill will be the ones eating crow when he inevitably brings a distraction to the locker room.
Maybe he's changed, maybe he hasn't. None of us will ever truly know unless we're in the locker room. But he's proven himself over time to be a distraction and selfish player.
I'd be more comfortable watching him sign with another team, proving himself to have changed, and then signing him the next off season.