Well, I hope some of your predictions turn out to be inaccurate, Replacement. We don't want another Ethan Moreau situation on this hockey club, where a washed-up veteran continues getting minutes - due to politics and dumb management - well past their best before date. In Moreau's case, it went on for 3 years, and we had a much better player - Curtis Glencross - who should have been given a contract and Moreau's roster spot to start the 2008-09 season.
The bells are starting to toll for Ryan Smyth, who turns 37 this month. I mean, come on, this is a young man's game. Accept that reality. It's important for you to recognize that Smyth has lost his spot to a player named Chris Vande Velde - a career minor leaguer. According to Stauffer, Ralph Kreuger likes Vande Velde's game more. Furthermore, Stauffer said there is 'absolutely no way' that Paajarvi is coming out of the line-up at this point. It should be on the podcast, if you want to listen.
Paajarvi, Petrell, and Hartikainen are all better than Smyth, and this isn't going to change. Maybe Smyth bumps Eager or Vande Velde from their spots going forward, or maybe an injury opens up a spot, but there aren't any other scenarios out there that would see him back in the line-up at this point.
The silver lining here is that we finally have an organization that puts merit first. I'm sure this was a tough call. Smytty's had a great career, but he also needs to start looking forward. It happens to every player eventually.