Let’s be 100% clear though. He never “got up to speed” not even now. He was brought in to be contributor in the top 6. Not a decent 4th liner chipping in 1 goal in the playoffs and killing penalties.
I dont think that you have an understanding of the extent of his injury and how long the potential recovery time is. The injury he had can take a year to recover from before a player has returned to the pre-injury level of play.
Historically Brown was a middle 6 winger...not unlike Foegele in many respects.
The team knew that there was that risk with signing Brown after that injury....everyone understood that. Well...almost everyone.
The point being the signing had a high level of risk to it.
The team had very little cap room so trying to find a middle 6 player that would be willing to take a bonus laden contract was extremely limited. When you have such little cap space you have to get creative and take risks with player signings. Brown was an example of that.
I am not defending the contract by any means but the contract doesnt change the reality of the circumstances.
The only thing standing in the way of not recognizing the reality of Browns injury (and its long term effects) would invlove being uninformed or being in denial or just being stubborn.
There is an argument that it was a bad risk...sure thats obvious enough just based on how long it took for Brown to get his feet under him.
All that being said now that Brown has returned to form I doubt very much that his point totals remain underwhelming. History refects that.
Lastly...Brown is playing an important role in this cup run. That shouldnt be overlooked.