I don't even know if I like Duchene as a player, period. Everywhere he goes some BS drama seems to follow. I didn't like that uber thing either. Players ragging on a coach, I understand but this is a vet and one of your supposed leaders bad mouthing a coach while in the company of rockies and youngerlings. That's no good.
Also, he is having a nice season this year when Ottawa has abandoned all defensive structure and is playing pond hockey but last year, while his team was trying to grind out games and make the playoffs, he was not exactly all world. Don't want to pay the price for Duchene, don't want to see Vrana bumped down to make room for him, don't want this guy around the locker room.
Perhaps. Perhaps he’s never been in a place that helped him grow into the type of leader he should be. It’s not like those Avalanche teams (lead by me first guys like ROR) has leadership in spades.
The Caps have a pretty cohesive, strong, spirited group of professionals. They are like almost 10 deep in that regard (seriously, at least 8....Orpik, Niskanen, Carlson, Holtby, Ovechkin, Backstrom, Wilson, Oshie, etc etc), so I cant imagine a guy like Duchene — who I see more as a passenger than a driver — making the room a negative “thing”. That diminishes the strengths aforementioned leaders. I don’t think the BS issues are worth ignoring this player. At all.
But like I said, I don’t know that I want that team to pony up for his services. I also don’t disagree that his stats are pretty inflated. They are. BUT, he’s a far better player than Burakovsky...of that’s who’s spot he takes in the lineup (proverbially speaking).
I go back to this: I trust GMBM. If he’s wants Duchene, then go and get him. But I’m not so sure that the case ..... Toffoli or Nyquist seem more his speed right now.
We will see