I'm not arguing for no reason. I am arguing that you are wrong. Since you change your statement, it suggests that you were wrong. You also think that Biega is a #5 Dman in the NHL so there's that.
If Pouliot is a serviceable regular NHL Dman that's a win period. Pouliot's point totals is likely to reflect on how good of an offensive team he plays on. He's more of a passer than a goal scorer.
I disagree with the statement in bold. A "serviceable regular" can be had on a bottom-pairing salary, or be claimed off of waivers. Wiercioch can be a serviceable regular. He can be used as a #6 Dman. Biega can be argued to be a serviceable regular. If that's the absolute height Pouliot is able to achieve, then that trade is most definitely not a "win". It would be the equivalent of paying a 4th round pick for a bottom pairing Dman at the deadline -- and few tend to think of those trades as good value deals.
On 20 points vs 25 points: You are effectively arguing for no reason. A 5 point variance over an 82 game sample is more attributable to luck than innate ability. It's not a hill to die on.
The problem is not you stating your opinion of a player, you do so over and over but you basically write off anyone that disagrees as ignorant or uninformed or the best of all a "casual fan". The boasting about how great of an evaluator of talent you are is a little much, it's easy to run a team from behind your keyboard.
Granlund may not be a world-beater and nobody claimed he would be but you jumped up and down claiming he was thrash when in fact he has been one of our top players and yes, I know it's early.
Pouliot like Granlund was given up on by his previous team and in order to make the trade a success all he has to do IMO is become a decent 4-5 defenceman not necessarily a PP QB although that's still a possibility.
If it's easy to run a team behind a keyboard, then Benning needs to learn how to use a computer.
I would say that in some ways it's actually harder to armchair QB this team as a fan than it is for Benning to manage it. Think about it: An incorrect statement or judgement here is picked apart and derided over and over again for years. If Benning makes a mistake, he talks about it once or twice and then hides in his office. Who in the media is really holding this man's feet to the fire?
Fans here also make projections based on more limited information than Benning likely has access to, so when they end up being right and Benning is wrong it's actually more impressive. If they can keep that frequency higher than Benning over a span of years, it really puts Benning's aptitude into perspective. It also isolates the posters ability to assess moves.
MS has maintained a high 'hit' frequency over years of putting his opinion out there. He's been wrong too (many of the posters here who have shared their opinion over years have been wrong, including myself). I've disagreed with his take on occasion. Even so, his ratio of being right vs being wrong is only bested by 2 other posters here IMO. That's very difficult to do when every one of his posts have to face the gauntlet every time out. That's why a default "wait and see" approach just seems to pale by comparison. It signals disagreement without knowledge, or creates a safe zone where opinions are not ventured or critiqued. It also highlights why what MS does here is rare.
As for Pouliot: I actually agree with your evaluation (somewhat). He has to be a 4/5 (more #4 Dman) for this trade can be considered a success. #4 Dmen still garner mid-level salaries and are not readily available. If he can achieve that height, then it's job well done. I think if he can buoy his point totals via PPPs, he has a chance to be considered a #4 even if his ES shot differentials and GA numbers are at a bottom pairing level. Let's wait and see...
