Sure, I'm not saying he was a bad add or bad contract like, say, Bieksa. He was our best and really only solid defender last year. I just don't know that I'd personally call it an "amazing" signing with how his year has gone. His defensive play has been lacking and I question his impact as a leader wearing the "C" on his chest with the way things are going.
But that's not exactly Verbeek's fault and it's not unique to Gudas. Dumoulin in particular started off so strong and has become more or less a liability on our back end (and you can't discount that Fowler has looked miles better for St. Louis since the trade) and maybe Radko just isn't cut out to be "the" captain in the room.
It's not a bad signing, I wouldn't necessarily say it's great as things stand right now. It was a good signing if for no other reason than the fact that we got a true physical D on the blueline for the first time since Manson was shipped out (until we went out and got Trouba).
As a whole I think Verbeek has made more good moves than bad. And I think another thing people don't consider with FA signings and trade targets with NMCs or NTCs is we're a small market and struggling team in a market with a much higher tax burden than most. We're not exactly a premier destination for the kinds of players many fans on the internet see get moved to other teams and moan that Verbeek didn't pull the trigger for them. As it goes for player personnel, Verbeek is fighting an uphill battle every day. It's far more feasible for this team to return to competitive form through development of young talent than trying to play the transaction market.
That being said, all evidence is pointing to this team heavily struggling to develop its youth. Retaining Cronin and everyone else involved in player development this long with this much struggle is an indictment on Verbeek. Every game that passes is another game these kids will never get back. The more Verbeek sits and watches and prays Cronin has a breakthrough the longer the development of our youth suffers.
