Coach preferred to play Manning, Del Zotto, and Streit 2 minutes more a game ES than him. So yeah probably. But he did play Ghost in top 4 ES minutes the first and last month. Could be some indication he's not wedded to the idea of Ghost as a 3rd pair player and wants to give him more minutes best case scenario. His usage will be up in the air depending on how well he does and if and when the rookies become *ahem* "reliable."
Ghost will dictate his usage.
Later in the season he was more responsible on defense, for example, focusing on taking the right angle to take the player away from the front of the net one on one instead of trying to stick check the puck away. He's obviously limited physically, but Ghost has the speed and agiility to be effective defensively if he focuses on fundamentals and positioning instead of trying to strip the puck.
Same on offense, while his injury limited him to some extent, Ghost was often irresponsible with the puck, trying to deke guys with no one behind him at the top of the O-zone and getting stripped for breakaways (which is as bad as Manning trying to pinch and letting the puck get behind him). Part of being an elite offensive player is knowing WHEN to gamble and when to play it safe, the object is to score, but not to help the other team score.
Fans focus on the excitement Ghost brings, but I suspect some of his problems last year came from coaches seeing bad judgment, typical of players who are used to being the most talented player on the ice (college, juniors) and having to adjust to the talent level of the NHL (or why Hextall wants most players to spend at least a full year in the AHL). Ghost didn't get that year of seasoning and it showed last year.
