The departed: how the Preds who left this offseason are doing
We can update this as the season goes...but I figured we should take a look at how last year's Preds are doing on other teams...and compare that to how well their replacements are faring now.
The departed:
Marcel Goc - C - Florida - 17 GP - 2G - 0A - 2P - even - 2 PIM - 16:53 ATOI
Joel Ward - RW - Washington - 18 GP - 4G - 3A - 7P - +4 - 6 PIM - 14:13 ATOI
Jack Hillen - D - 17 GP - 0G - 3A - 3P - +1 - 12 PIM - 12:31 ATOI
**Mike Fisher - C - 11 GP - 3G - 6A - 9P - even - 2 PIM 18:44 ATOI
**Obviously Lombardi was injured for 98% of last season...essentially Mike Fisher is his replacement. Fisher, being a vet, doesn't exactly fit in with the "out with the old, in with the new" that applies to most of this. Nonetheless, he's still sort of a "new" Pred.
Stats don't tell the complete story, of course, but they give you an idea of where those guys stand on the other teams. I've really only seen Sully and Wardo in game action. Both seem to have found their spots on those teams, and I certainly wish them well (when they aren't playing us ). Sully had some injury issues, but he looks good this year. I hated to let Ward go, but he was getting too expensive for what he brings for us. I actually miss SOB, too. Hillen is doing pretty well, but I think SOB would've been a better option to keep.
How do you think the replacements have done? (Obviously Smith has been awesome...) Did the Preds make good moves by letting some of these guys go or trading them?
Man, Halischuk's gone under the radar a little, it totally doesn't seem like he has 5 goals all ready.
Yeah, I was surprised the number was 5, too. Already surpassed last season. A lot of that has been him being at the right place at the right time....but that just goes to credit the solid play he's doing this year. Geoffrion has been a bit disappointing so far, but Halischuk is playing as solidly as you could ask for from a young grinder. He seems to play well regardless of what line he is on. He might well develop into a good glue guy.
Quote:
Originally Posted by cleangene
Last Saturday's display by our weaker defensive unit made me miss S.O.B. more and more.
Agreed. I think it may have been a little premature to let him go...especially since Franson ended up getting traded.
Blum has a bright future, but he's looking a lot more like a rookie this year than last. He really needs a steady veteran presence that isn't named Kevin Klein.
In a hindsight is 20/20 world, I would've resigned SOB and Sully. Despite the bargain basement contract, Bergfors really hasn't done anything for us. Sully isn't as durable as he used to be, but he looks great so far this year. He would be an asset on the PP and PK, as usual, and could log the minutes that some of our younger forwards can't provide.
SOB would be a good physical presence to round out Blum. He's not a great defenseman, but he's solid, and he can talk $#!& to the other team and clear their forwards from in front of the net. Plus he was a fun locker room presence. Every team needs a prankster.
I've watched Sully in a few Pitt games and have not been impressed. He looks just like he did last year. Old, slower, not willing to battle to win a puck etc. 8 points in 20 games is not that impressive when your playing with Malkin and Neal.
I've watched Sully in a few Pitt games and have not been impressed. He looks just like he did last year. Old, slower, not willing to battle to win a puck etc. 8 points in 20 games is not that impressive when your playing with Malkin and Neal.
He started off pretty slow, but lately I think he's stepped it up a notch. The players around him are getting used to his tendencies. He scored on a beautiful redirect from Malkin last night, so he actually has 2 goals.
Anyways...I'm not saying it was the wrong thing to do to let Sully go...because the big question mark was 'can he play a full season?' Plus, our prospect list was getting pretty deep, and I think Poile decided it's sink or swim time for a few of these guts.
I think we'll be better off in the long run with the route we took...but I do miss some of what those guys brought to the table.
I completely forgot Bergfors was ever on this team until this was brought back up.
He was on this months calendar photo from the Players with their Dogs calendars that were giveaways a few months ago. It's been interesting to see who's been moved since that was made!!
Would you take anyone of them back right now, with their current salaries, and displace anyone on our current roster?
I honestly wouldn't.
as much as I have said(and still believe) that the Franson trade wasnt a bad one, I'd probably take Cody over Hillen(barely) and I might even take SOB over Cube, if he's not taking as many stupid penalties.. but its not enough of a difference to be considered a bad move
and dont you know Washington is thinking "wtf were we thinking?" with Wards contract...
as much as I have said(and still believe) that the Franson trade wasnt a bad one, I'd probably take Cody over Hillen(barely) and I might even take SOB over Cube, if he's not taking as many stupid penalties.. but its not enough of a difference to be considered a bad move
and dont you know Washington is thinking "wtf were we thinking?" with Wards contract...
flip side is if we had SOB, we wouldn't have Gill, and with Franson, probably no Josi. this is assuming that with Franson our D would have been 6, 20, 8, 51, gill/sob Franson.
). Sully had some injury issues, but he looks good this year. I hated to let Ward go, but he was getting too expensive for what he brings for us. I actually miss SOB, too. Hillen is doing pretty well, but I think SOB would've been a better option to keep.
