Quote:
Originally Posted by Renholder
What if we were to sign the often rumored and almost unanimously accepted Arnott and Langenbrunner instead of Samsonov+ Johnson? Would we be a better team now or our actual signing + losing bulis and Zednik more beneficial to our team?
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I don't think there was ever a case to be made for signing Arnott *AND* Langenbrunner. I would say we could either have paid Langenbrunner around $3.5M instead of Samosonov, *or* we could have tried to stretch up to $5M for Arnott (and instead of a $42.1M payroll we would have been *really* tapped out at $43.6M).
I'm happier with Samsonov for 2 years at $3.5M than I would have been with Arnott for 4/5 years at $5M. The Arnott scenario would have been pure albatross, IMO.
As for Langenbrunner vs. Samsonov at the same price... hmmm... well, I'm kind of partial to Langenbrunner's grit and tenacity, which I still think is something we need more of on the team and haven't addressed as well as I'd ideally have liked. The injury history for Samsonov is a bit worrying too. But I can see it working out well with Samsonov if he stays healthy and produces up to his potential too.
Not that it matters much anymore. I'm entirely satisfied with what Gainey was able to accomplish under the circumstances.
