Beef Invictus
Revolutionary Positivity
He broke up the MDZ-Schenn pairing when that didn't work.
After keeping it together for weeks longer than he should have.
He broke up the MDZ-Schenn pairing when that didn't work.
This is a really good point that isn't talked about enough actually. It's very important that we don't damage the development of players here and so far Gustafsson was just crazily treated then left for Europe, Akeson is in developmental hell right now getting a lot of time either scratched or in depth roles not suited for him (not to mention the fact that our bottom lines inherently suck), Couturier isn't being given any sort of shot at consistent offensive opportunity, Schenn gets thrown around on lines like a rag doll, and Laughton is probably ready for the big club yet hasn't seen any action until recently a losing streak prompted and he's still not getting the minutes he deserves.
So, that's all very bad. It's also extremely counter-productive and counter-intuitive to this whole "build for the future, be patient" thing we should and are supposed to have going on.
It's easy to wave your hand and say, "Well, Gustafsson was never going to be anything, anyway", but nobody knows how good he could have turned out.
The NHL is littered with unheralded, useful players that began as "fringe NHLers" like Gustafsson. But you have to actually be given a shot in the NHL to ever become one.
They have his NHL rights.
He broke up the MDZ-Schenn pairing when that didn't work.
A good comp to Gus would be Seidenberg, but Seidenberg has 3 inches and 30 lbs on Gus, and it took Seidenberg 3 years and 2 more teams after leaving Philly to become a starting NHL defenseman, and he really didn't settle in as a solid player until he got to Boston when he was 28.
If you were ranking Flyer prospects, he'd be behind Hagg, Alt, Morin, Ghost and Sanheim, and probably Vasilev. Friedman is the most similar physically, but Friedman is the same size at age 18.
I think Gus can play in the right situation, but he is very small for a NHL D-man, and while he can skate, he's not in the same league as Ghost. MDZ has turned out to be a full sized version of Gus and a significant upgrade.
Better comparable is a guy like Jared Spurgeon, imo.
If Minnesota treated Spurgeon like the Flyers treated Gustafsson, they would have lost out on a very useful, though undersized, top four defender.
I'm not saying Gustafsson would have become Spurgeon, but we'll never know what he could have been since he never got a chance.
@Broadstbull
"Berube on Bellemare: He's almost too careful at times. He wants the C to get more attack in his game and be more of a scoring threat."
I completely lost it. MAYBE with just a tad more icetime and not on the friggin 4th line.
@Broadstbull
"Berube on Bellemare: He's almost too careful at times. He wants the C to get more attack in his game and be more of a scoring threat."
I completely lost it. MAYBE with just a tad more icetime and not on the friggin 4th line.
Gustafsson > Grossmann, Schenn, Colaiacovo
Gustafsson = MacDonald, Schultz
I agree with Berube in a sense that I've seen PEB pass the puck when he should be taking shots, i.e. the time he and Vinny were going in on a 2 on 1.