Murf
Registered User
I hope so, but I doubt it would happen. Whatever nits there are to pick about his game, he would immediately be our second best defenseman. The team would be better with him on the roster.
My angle with Yandle is pretty much the same angle I've always had with Doan. If he's the best player at his position you will not have a winning team. The team isn't successful when Doan is our best forward. The team wasn't successful when Yandle was our best defenseman and only got better when OEL came into the lineup and helped relieve some of the minutes.
The Coyotes are in a position now with both players (Doan and Yandle) that they can be complimentary players and not THE player. The Captain always drives the team, but you need guys like Domi, Hanzal and Duclair to be the best players. We really need Strome to be better than any of them and this team will be a winner. OEL commands the back end and that allows more room for a guy like Yandle because you have two defensive pairs to match up with and if OEL doesn't get you, Yandle will.
That said, you must value Yandle as a guy as he has performed on winning teams differently than how he has performed on poorer teams. If Yandle is a top 5 defender in scoring but you miss the playoffs or he is a 40 point scorer and you are a playoff team you want to be the playoff team so you have to value him as the 40 point producer on a winner rather than a 50-60 point player on a loser.