I do believe it because it’s the truth. He was brought to the Flames largely because of his last name, not because he was filling a huge need other than some size. He’s not a bad hockey player, but he’s literally not done a single thing in almost 2 seasons to justify occupying a roster spot. I think it’s pretty clear why he wasn’t waived before now.
Disagree. If you strip away Freddie's last name, I think he's still a guy we would have kept in comparison to some of the prospects/journeymen we released.
But because it's there, let's pretend the following:
Gulutzan vouched for Vey and Chiasson
Dougie vouched for Freddie
All 3 were acquired for negligible stuff:
- Vey was FA
- Freddie conditional 7th that didn't transfer
- Chiasson for Sieloff
Of the 3, I think you really do keep Freddie. Sometimes there are guys that get buried somewhere that do need a chance to be rescued from a franchise. The biggest example of this was Kipper, possibly Smith. But obviously there's far more duds in general.
There's plenty in the area of Shore/Knight, Jooris, Colborne, Agostino, Arnold etc. that honestly aren't worth keeping over Freddie, talent, fit and chemistry wise. Freddie does have a weird intangible that causes Dougie to be inspired to play better. Freddie has the other side of the coin where he is inspired to play better so he can play with his bro. IMO Freddie is actually worth keeping and is better than some of the other less talented bros we have acquired in the past.
I think the narrative where Freddie was acquired ONLY because he's Dougie's bro is not true. Freddie was a player who was buried somewhere in Colorado. Dougie asked if somehow Freddie could be freed from there. Treliving looked at the idea, realized it couldn't be worse than a Shore/Knight swap or Vey signing etc. and had similar talent and upside. It definitely didn't hurt that the price was pretty much free plus buys good will with a star player. Freddie was an asset worth acquiring based on needs of the team (RHS, RW). The Dougie connection helped, but it's not the only reason he was acquired.
But also consider Freddie is also at a weird age. He's somewhat a vet, but also technically a prospect. He's somewhere between a TSpoon disappointment and a Bartkowski blocking a farmhand making it up here. That's another reason why posters are complaining. In all seriousness, IMO Freddie being up is based on his "veteran age". I am guessing, the team would rather have Freddie munch popcorn as an alright option for the 13th/14th forward because they'd rather the kids develop rather than munch popcorn.