bbt said:
Agree, jury still out on Kadrie, but you can't tell me Schenn is NOT a bust at +$4m per year. Let's not kid ourselves, this guy is no top 5 defensiveman, on any team. Turn him into a 4th line forward grinder and try to recover some of your investment but in the meantime, the coaches are doing the right thing by reducing his ice time and minimizing the number of bone head plays this defensive core is famous for.
I think that is way, way premature.
Here's the top 15 Norris voted dmen in 2011 and what they did at age 22:
1. Nicklas Lidstrom - 2nd full season in NHL, 6th +7 for dmen, don't know in TOI/g that year
2. Shea Weber - 2nd full season in NHL, team worst -6 for dmen, 4th in TOI/g for dmen
3. Zdeno Chara - 2nd full season in NHL, team worst -27 for dmen, 2nd in TOI/g for dmen
4. Lubomir Visnovsky - Not in NHL
5. Keith Yandle - 1st full season in NHL, 4th with -4 in +/- for dmen, 6th in TOI/g for dmen
6. Kris Letang - 2nd full season in NHL, 5th with +1 in +/- for dmen, 3rd in TOI/g for dmen
7. Dustin Byfuglien - 1st full season in NHL, 7th with -7 in +/- for dmen, 6th in TOI/g for dmen
8. Christian Ehrhoff - Not in NHL full time
9. Duncan Keith - 1st full season in NHL, 5th with -11 in +/- for dmen, 1st in TOI/g for dmen
10. Matt Carle - 1st full season in NHL, 3rd with +9 in +/- for dmen, 6th in TOI/g for dmen
11. Drew Doughty - 4th full season in NHL, 4th with +0 in +/- for dmen, 1st in TOI/g for dmen
12. Chris Pronger - 4th NHL season - doing very well
13. Toni Lydman - Not in NHL
14. Dan Boyle - Not in NHL full time
15. Ryan Suter - 2nd full season in NHL, 4th with +10 in +/- for dmen, 3rd in TOI/g for dmen
A bunch of the best dmen were not blowing away the league at age 22. Some had team worst +/-s and low ice time while others were not even in the league yet.
Development of young dmen takes time. 22 is way too young to give up on a young dman and claim he's a bust. Schenn was NEVER going to be an offensive star. It takes time to learn the defensive side of the game.
I think this business about declaring Schenn a bust is over the top at this juncture. At 24-25, with the same result, then it's more of a legit concern.
His pay isn't his fault. It's the fault of the GM who brought him up at 18 yrs old when he had little chance of being decent for a number of years. He could be in the 2nd year of his entry deal right now if they'd sat on him for a couple of years (like Detroit tends to do smartly with their young players). It's when a dman hits 24-25 that he tends to become really useful in this league - on rough average. By bringing him in at 18, Luke was headed for UFA status at 25 and he's yet to play well at 22 - after four years.