WVP
Registered User
- Mar 22, 2004
- 13,399
- 0
One thing people need to keep in mind when thinking about Spaling is the situation at the time he was procured. At the time of the Neal/Horny trade, our bottom six was still in shambles with a lot of UFAs leaving, Sutter being an RFA. Our bottom six was:
Pyatt-Sutter-Kobasew
Glass-Vitale-Adams
4 were UFAs not likely to return. 1 was a RFA that the previous GM tried to trade openly. 1 was Craig Adams...
The bottom 6 being such a mess was an obvious issue that needed fixing. Those of us that really watched last year could argue that throughout most of the season the bottom 6 was a bigger issue than the Top 6. JR needed to start righting that ship right away. Both GMs knew that Neal held more value than Hornqvist. JR knew he needed bottom 6 help and Spaling was available. He would have been stupid not to have snagged him. A pick wouldn't have helped. We needed bodies right then. We had no idea what the FA market was going to be like. We hadn't resigned Goc yet, Comeau was a target but no guarantee, and I'm not sure Downie was even on the radar. Not to mention that we were in the middle of RFA talks with Sutter who may have been miffed at trying to be traded for Kesler so vigorously. Spaling could have also played 3C. At the time, it was really the perfect toss in to the Neal/Horn trade and I 100% understand why it was a solid move.
Now that we have Goc, Comeau, Downie, a resigned Sutter, and didn't waive Adams...we can start to question the move in hindsight only. Has he been the lights out Top 6 wing we've been missing? No, of course that. That's not his role. Has he been actively hurting the team like Gladams did? No, of course that.
Once healthy, he's a great 4th line depth guy. Probably one of the better 4th line players in the league. We should be used to 3rd/4th line guys filling in spots in the top 6 by now. We've seen it enough. We know that management doesn't view that as permanent. We know we have injuries right now...why are we really concerned with an extra bottom 6 wing, fill in 3C, 4C?
Yep. Downie, Goc, Spaling, Comeau - all have played a big role in upgrading the bottom 6. Rutherford definitely did well there.