Xspyrit
DJ Dorion
I have a feeling Ottawa will regret losing Balcers, he doesn't look out of place whatsoever in the top 6 IMO. A bit funny to see after what Pierre Dorion said and seeing where Ottawa is in the standings.. makes losing Norris and the Stutzle pick slightly easier.
Even if wishing bad stuff against your own team sounds ridiculous, I hope Ottawa regrets it. We need to be able to highlight Dorion's incompetence as much as possible, even if that really isn't needed anymore. It was so short sighted to not find a way to have Rudolfs as one of the 14 forward spots on a REBUILDING team... seriously short sighted, particularly when you look at the whole offseason work. At some point, I knew it was going to backfire... How come as "just a fan" I could see it coming from miles but the GM doesn't?
Anyway, if Balcers was on strong team and there was no spot for him, then sure waive him. But when you realize he was waived to be sure we didn't lose any of :
- Artem Anisimov (good career but last NHL legs, final year on contract)
- Cedric Paquette (the guy DIDN'T want to play in Ottawa)
- Alex Galchenyuk (signed as UFA reclamation project, might have not been claimed)
- Derek Stepan (no one would have touched him with his 6.5 AAV and majorly declining play? Imagine we gave up a 2nd round pick to acquire him)
Heck I think I would have rather waived Chris Tierney. Another piece from the Karlsson's trade that is fading... We could have gotten a pretty good return in 2019 but our GM clearly knows what he's doing.
I think Balcers can be a long term middle 6 playmaker for us. He might not be well rounded enough or skilled enough to be a bonafide top 6 in the long run but he fills a slot in the top 9 at the very least.
I see Rudy as a Namestnikov level player, not similar but level wise.
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