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| Bringing his talents to cowtown |
Written by Newman
I remember a time not too long ago when Scott Hannan was considered one of the premier shut down defenceman in the NHL.
I even remember him being constantly compared to another shut down defenceman – Robyn Regehr.
Where did the time go?
Regehr is gone and Hannan is now a Flame. Not traded for one another, but you can’t help but think that one is replacing the other – even if Hannan is not on the same level as a Regehr at this point in his career.
Hannan had his best days as a San Jose Shark and most of them before the lockout.
He is 32-years old, so not quite over the hill.
For one million dollars, there is no real risk in the signing.
But I find myself thinking the exact same thing with every signing the Flames make.
You bring in an older veteran to take yet another spot away from a prospect ready to make the jump.
It’s become the Flames modus operandi.
Do they have such little faith in their prospects or are they just terrified of losing a couple more games in the name of eventually becoming a better team?
Much like the Morrison signing, I would rather the Flames let a young kid play instead of giving his minutes to a guy like Hannan who is nothing but a stop-gap in the Flames development of talented d-men.
This leaves the Flames with Bouwmeester, Giordano, Sarich, Babchuk, Butler and Hannan as regular NHLers on the blue line. You’re left filling the holes with Mikkelson, Carson, Brodie, Breen and Negrin.
Barring an injury, it doesn’t leave a lot of space for a rookie to get much ice time, now does it?
So why do it? Are the Flames going to win the Stanley Cup this year? No, they’re not. They aren’t good enough.
So why not give Brodie or Breen or Negrin a realistic shot at making the team as a full time member.
Heck, at least give them a fighting chance.
The bargain bin philosophy that the Flames have had these past two summers with the likes of Tanguay, Jokinen, Morrison and Hannan seems to be working but why not build from within and save the money for a talented player who is already in the system?
I’ve had this conversation with too many people to count, but I’d rather see a guy like Brodie play a full season with the Flames and struggle a bit, but learn from his mistakes, than watch a run of the mill defenceman like Hannan play average hockey just so the Flames can finish in 9th place again.
Scott Hannan isn’t going to push this team over the top, and I’m sure that’s not the intention. But a TJ Brodie with a couple years of NHL experience might eventually take this team to a different level.
That is, if he is ever given an actual shot at seeing the ice.
At this rate, it seems unlikely.
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5 comments:
Actually if you really look at it, its brilliant. This year could go any which way, really. And next year half the teams contracts expire, literally half the team. If we play bad, you trade EVERYBODY as rentals for whatever you can get. For this year let the old dogs have a last spin, if they can play like they did for a good portion of last year I don't think it will be a bad year.
But why limit your rookies playing time before they even hit the ice. I'll never agree with the strategy. It just bothers me
Yes but if you listen to Feaster's and Hannan's comments on the Fan 960 they both reiterated the fact that there is no permanent spot for Hannan on the team right now and that he is going to have to earn a spot on the roster.
If the likes of Brodie and Co. come to camp and impress they will get ice time. If anything, Hannan is a nice insurance policy in case of injuries and could be a great leader for any of the young prospects who get a shot and/or would be a nice trading piece to have later in the season. My belief is whoever truly deserves a spot will get a spot and if some of the young guns come to play next month we could even see a move involving Sarich.
Feaster said that due to what has happened in the past, he does not expect fans to believe him or Butter when they say they are going to give the ice time to the players who show they want it most, regardless of their name or worth. But he also said that as the season begins and time moves on we as fans will see something different and that they will follow through with their plan.
I too am still skeptical exactly because of what has been done in the past, but I find it refreshing to have our GM say things like that. I'm excited to see what happens in the next few months and whether Feaster sticks to his words/plan.
Yeah, it just seems like they keep employing the exact same strategy of filling holes with over-the-hill veterans and then say the rooks will be given a chance but never do. Im just tired of it and until something different actually happens I wont believe it actually will happen
Why do it? Simple. Because you can never have enough depth on D'. If a rookie takes his spot, it is only $1 mil in the pressbox.
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