This is a good move IMO. Gives you some depth for injuries and this guy is a solid team player. I like it. He is being signed as a 6-7 d-man, and I think he is a good player in that role.
1.6 is not a very big cap hit at all. He would be an easily trade able asset if the youngsters impress. There is always teams looking for puck movers.
Wow... didn't expect this at all. He did play pretty well down the strech, but that doesn't make up for the prior year and a half. If he stays as a #6 or 7, I'll be okay with it, if Sacco starts thinking he is a #2 again we are in some serious trouble.
He had a bad 10-11 season, not unlike a lot of players on the Avs, but he's a decent bottom pairing option and could very easily end up the #7 guy again. He played fine last year, even early in the year when he would get placed into the lineup after weeks in the press box.
Yeah O'Brien is likely a goner. While some of his boneheaded plays down the stretch singled-handedly cost us a few games, he was a real good fit on the Avs under the right circumstances. Unfortunately, he was playing just too much for the kind of player he is and got exposed. O'Brien essentially is a bottom pairing guy that can fill-in on a larger role but only for a limited amount of games before his play starts to cost us. I'm certain his agent will be looking at more than double what he made last season ($2.5M to $3M per) and I just don't see that happening. If he'd take $2M per season, it's possible he remains an Av though.
Yeah O'Brien is likely a goner. While some of his boneheaded plays down the stretch singled-handedly cost us a few games, he was a real good fit on the Avs under the right circumstances. Unfortunately, he was playing just too much for the kind of player he is and got exposed. O'Brien essentially is a bottom pairing guy that can fill-in on a larger role but only for a limited amount of games before his play starts to cost us. I'm certain his agent will be looking at more than double what he made last season ($2.5M to $3M per) and I just don't see that happening. If he'd take $2M per season, it's possible he remains an Av though.
Everyone except Shane O'Brien and Joe Sacco knows that. He would be a great 5-6 guy, but he thinks he is a top 4. I thought it was very obvious when he played with EJ that he was trying to carry that pair. He tried to do way too much and would never passes to EJ, just try and carry it out almost every time. He would actually try and stickhandle through players in our own zone rather than pass to EJ, who is by far our best outlet passer.
Seriously though... I am, ummm, questioning this signing. He does sound like a great character guy and someone the team really likes, but still. Maybe his flashes of NHL-caliber play in those few games he played last season were "enough" to get him that contract. Does this mean SOB is off to his sixth team? Or...? EDIT: I completely agree about the comments that SOB would be a great 5-6 pairing guy IF he knew that, but he wants to do too much out there. I remember games where EJ was forced to clean up after SOB's mistakes all freaking night. It got old, fast.
On this note, hopefully the team is working diligently at getting McClement and Jones signed.
Honestly, that looks pretty bad. Especially if we don't get a solid player to fill the hole in the top pairing.
Hejda O'Byrne
O'Brien EJ
Wilson/ Hunwick/ Elliott/ Barrie
is what we had during our best stretch last season. It bit us in the butt, as we really needed 1 more top 4 guy. I think that d looks passable as long as we get a legitimate top pairing d-man to play with EJ. Hejda and O'Byrne can handle 20+ minutes a night.
Seriously though... I am, ummm, questioning this signing. He does sound like a great character guy and someone the team really likes, but still. Maybe his flashes of NHL-caliber play in those few games he played last season were "enough" to get him that contract. Does this mean SOB is off to his sixth team? Or...?
On this note, hopefully the team is working diligently at getting McClement and Jones signed.
Honestly, if this seems O'Brien is gone I'm pumped. O'Brien is a ****ing clown. The amount of times he tried to rush the puck and gave it away, made the wrong decision or made a terrible pass was too many to count. That was the only player on the Avs I really wanted gone, despite his locker room presence. Anyways, maybe Hunwick worked his TAIL off and last year was a TSN turning point in his career. I hope so.
Hunwick better be ok with getting scratched for another 2 years, because he's no good to us as a regular defender.
Bright side: This hopefully means O'Brien is gone (had a soft spot for him, but he wore out his welcome during the stretch run). And it looks like Hunwick could be good competition for the young PMDs as they are properly groomed in LEM.
Meh: I'm concerned this will kick us out of the Suter sweeps.
Honestly, if this seems O'Brien is gone I'm pumped. O'Brien is a ****ing clown. The amount of times he tried to rush the puck and gave it away, made the wrong decision or made a terrible pass was too many to count. That was the only player on the Avs I really wanted gone, despite his locker room presence. Anyways, maybe Hunwick worked his TAIL off and last year was a TSN turning point in his career. I hope so.
O'Brien was a very, very good addition to this team for the first half of the season. The 2nd half, he wasn't very good as you mentioned but it doesn't erase his first half completely.
Hunwick better be ok with getting scratched for another 2 years, because he's no good to us as a regular defender.
Bright side: This hopefully means O'Brien is gone (had a soft spot for him, but he wore out his welcome during the stretch run). And it looks like Hunwick could be good competition for the young PMDs as they are properly groomed in LEM.
Meh: I'm concerned this will kick us out of the Suter sweeps.
Like Ryan Suter will look at the roster and say, "Well Mr. Sherman, I see you've got Matt Hunwick signed for the next 2 seasons. So where does that leave me?" Or that Sherman is going to think on July 1st, "Top pairing d-man? Didn't we sign Matt Hunwick for 1.6 mill a season to play that role?"
:
