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Fresh From The Oven
With respect to the Matt Martin discussion, I think that just having the guy on the team provides a kind of placebo effect for the players. If smaller guys like Brown or Marner feel safer with Martin on the team, then they're not going to be unconsciously limiting their games and tendencies on the ice because of fear. If it gives peace of mind to your star player(s), then fine. There's also player intimidation and other kinds of posturing that we rarely see...different players react differently to this and there's bound to be some that would take some solace in having a bruiser that has their back or a guy that will shift focus away.
Many of the younger guys may not have played during the rock 'em sock 'em era, but their coaches and older teammates sure did. Would they find solace in the math behind them not getting hurt or from a teammate that says that, and is paid to, protect them?
Many of the younger guys may not have played during the rock 'em sock 'em era, but their coaches and older teammates sure did. Would they find solace in the math behind them not getting hurt or from a teammate that says that, and is paid to, protect them?