1 more thing until the game. I'm fired up early and can't wait.
About Bickell....he is still a unique player and excellent enforcer if we can get him right. The NHL is changing and I think we have hit a transition where he isn't valuable against every opponent, depending on the stakes of the game, the rivalry, and the opponent players.
He obviously isn't worth his salary. But there are still teams where Q would want him on the ice. Wild/Blues/Bruins off the top of my head. Or to matchup against anyone with a severe intimidator, maybe a Montreal. Bickell has value, but is he the reason Dano is in Rockford?
Thinking deeper on Stans cap issues and this roster formation....I have another theory nobody will like on Dano.
Dano is emergency trade bait right now. AA was the target for Kane long term. Great...you do that for your superstars.
Dano was necessary to balance the trade if they wanted Paliotta probably, in addition to Saad's immense value. So....what does this all mean?
It means we have a serious franchise issue at defender created by the bullet we took to move Sharps salary. We had to pay them to take it, and Johns is still killing me.
But what if a top 3 defender goes down again after Keith? I mean we would go from barely holding on like we did last playoffs, basically one of the greatest defensive performances by those 4 defenders in 30 years. We can't ask them of that, we already needed one more.
Now we need 2 more.
If you expose Dano to the supposed "lottery line" of Toews-Hossa that will get you points and get you paid, thats great if he produced immediately at a Saad value. But if the line is struggling the blame will be on Dano and you would lose your emergency trade bait if we end up having to pull a trigger for a defender.
I just think something sinister is going on because he seemed good, he has some fantastic skill and Q loved his low gravity and scrappy nature. They are either taking a look at the rest of the roster, or holding that chip in case of emergency, as the roster is so cap tight and the real big trade pieces so few. Who else could we move other than an untouchable?
