Crombeen was brought in as a penalty killer and 3rd/4th line grinder first, fighter second.
We all know TB plays the 'skill first' game and the way the team is being run now, you won't see a pure fighter on this team.
BJ drops the gloves, sure, but he isn't a top-of-the line fighter. Never has been.
Thing is, he is really the only one on the team that could do the fighting majors without costing his team....Lecavalier and Aulie are two others that can fight, but again, that's not really their game, and we really don't WANT them doing that.
Malone is another one (when he is in there), but again, you want his front-of-the-net presence more so than having him sit in the box for fighting.
I too believe the Rinaldo fight took something out of Crombeen though.
Who knows, maybe he has been advised by the coaching and medical staff to stay away from fighting if he can for a bit. Who knows the damage that was done when his head hit the ice.
Still, his puck possesion/grinding and penalty kill ability remain, he still takes the bodies on opponents, and can still be found in the middle of scrums sticking up for players.
I agree the Bolts need to be a bit tougher, but they will have to do it with players who are tough in the 'hockey' sense....taking the body, making life miserable for forwards entering the zone, etc....and if they do want to get some other players who can fight, that guy has to be able to play the game as well.
I honestly don't think the Bolts will sign a guy like Colton Orr, John Scott for example....more like the kind of players Steve Downie or a Brandon Prust are...tough players who can fight AND play the game.
If TB REALLY wants to get ahold of a tough guy and don't care that his hockey skills are less then the standard they usually settle for, then perhaps they should give Minnesota a call and inquire about Matt Kassian.
He is currently playing in the AHL, is a monster of a man, good with the fists, and intimidates others...even has a hint of stick handling as I have seen him with the Wild go towards the net and draw crowds due to his sheer size approaching the goal....he won't deke anyone or go top shelf, but in a pile up, I bet this guy can find the garbage and whack a few in.
But Minny placed him on waivers not too long ago and no one took him...so I am guessing a team like the Lightning really aren't interested.
But back to Crombeen...yea, he is what I was expecting from him. He could use a partner to help him police though.
PC Labrie can do that too, but Labrie doesn't offer much else in other areas of the game to justify having him AND Crombeen playing at the same time on a regular basis.
