smith has to go, he's a big nothing burger out there. at least at that price.
could he have a bounce back? probably/maybe? but we need more bunting type of players.
we really need another DoC. younger, faster heavily invested kind of players.
I do miss guentz but... I'll just say if I *have* to pick between bunting+prospects at less then half of what jake is gonna get paid this summer. It's a no brainer, bunting had more impact on our lineup then jake did this year, very much in the vein of Neal for Hornqvist kinda trade.
So I would try hard to trade Smith in the off season for a younger player with speed that we can plug on the the 3rd line.
Rakell is the other one, ever since he got his melon scrambled in the playoffs against the rangers he hasn't been the same to me. No idea if that's related or not. Just saying he's not quite as bad as Smith but he's not performing at top 6 level's here.
Hard to move both Rakell and Smith but at least one has to go and my vote is Smith.
Jarry, i sincerly hope that we can find a sucker to take him. People have to realize it's not just his stats. He has lost the room. Ned is a journeyman goalie, his stats reflect that, but he never gives up. He doesn't make excuses and owns his mistakes. THAT is why he played down the stretch, an imperfect goalie with that kind of attitude inspires his team mates to play for him. Yes this is true even in professional sports.
Jarry blames others, blames injuries. Pretty much blames everyone but his lack of focus and the fact that he just sucks in big moments. You do not endear yourselves to your teammates when they *know* you screwed the play up and you're over there telling the press you had a shitty season due to injuries (last season), but yet not so injuried that the medical staff or coaches thought it was an issue, friggin man up and own it. He is a mental midget that needs to play for someone else.
