RAFritchey wrote: Tue Mar 19, 2019 3:18 pm
Over the last 4 seasons (Including this one so far, as bad as it's been) Pietrangelo is in the top-20 or so of all defensemen in just about any category you could name: Points, points per game, shots, ice time, goals, goals per game, PP goals, game winning goals, etc. He plays significant time in every situation, usually against the opposition's top players, and he's only 29. As of next year, His cap hit will be 18th among all currently signed defensemen, which is pretty much exactly in line with his overall performance i.e. somewhere between 15-20 league wide among defensemen. He's not going to get a top-10 salary, but he's probably going to be staying around 15th-20th over the course of his next contract.
Anyone who thinks we'd be better off with Dion Phaneuf instead for that kind of money desperately needs a boot to the head.
Outside of a few posters, or maybe just one
, I think most of us DO value Petro as a top pairing D-man. It is his leadership, and as I mentioned earlier, his seemingly lack of involvement with the community, unenthusiastic and very sporadic interviews, and from the few times I've seen the potential for fan interactions, he has missed those and just ignored the fans.
IMHO, the team and Petro would be better off moving away from each other, AND if we can get a young stud dman
like a Cernak back in a trade, do it. We may be weaker in backline skill, but I think team chemistry and leadership would automatically improve. And as we see every year from teams like Edmonton, it takes a LOT more than just skill to win in the NHL. /