Is he really better than the alternative? Does Struble make more mistakes than him? Does Xhekaj? Does Barron? Does Savard?
Yes. Quite obviously. the volume of mistakes a player makes is affected by their usage... time on ice, matchups, linemates... there's also the internal impact of greater responsibility and playing with less rest... these factors are difficult to quantify, difficult to assess (especially from the outside), and, are the single largest variable that fans dismiss and overlook.
Hutson isn't doing what he does, and getting the minutes that he is, because of his physical attributes. It's almost entirely about his mental game and ability to handle the pressure of the role and responsibility he's been given/taking.
If any of X, Strubble, Barron had the ability to perform well with greater ice time, there is zero reason to believe that they wouldn't be getting it already. MSL has quite clearly shown no reservation to giving younger players more time, more responsibility and play them above vets, when they (coaching staff) asseses them as able to handle it.
one may disagree with their assessment, but overall I think it's without merit to suggest that the team is prioritizing any veteran just because of their age.
Savard? come on... he can't handle that type of role responsibility. Again here, one might argue we should have a different play style and approach, but let's be real here... Savard didn't get that kind of role or usage in Columbus (under 20min/night, 9sec/game of PP time) nor in Tampa on their playoff run (14min/night).
he's not a reasonable option to take on any more responsibility than he already has, and thus far this season he's been struggling even there.
We know Hutson is a better alternative on the PP1. We know Guhle is probably at least similar on PP2.
We know Guhle and Hutson can both outplay him at ES/5v5.
Hutson and Guhle are already playing more ES time than Matheson.
Guhle has dealt with injuries to start the year... if he stays healthy, I'd imagine we'll see his overall usage go up.
the PP question... sure, we could reduce Matheson's time and up Guhle's... but
We know that Struble, Xhekaj, Barron don't play a lot and they could play a couple more minutes with similar success.
could not disagree more with this assessment. But I am glad to hear that you see them as able to be successful with more usage... Barron in particular is often the target of excessive scapegoating and complaints in most threads, your voice pointing out that he should get more, rather than less, usage will be a breath of fresh air!
We know that AX, Struble, Savard, Guhle can all play PK.
yes, and so can matheson... who is 2nd in PK ice time... on a team that is 12th in the league in PK efficacy.
so, again, not sure I see the validity of the critique, nor how the proposed solution actually improves us right now. Numbers don't add up.
Stop butt clenching. Matheson isn't a necessity on this roster, he's just like Gustaffsson again. He's just like Kulak.
no player is a "necessity". If your done with the petty insults and baseless empty comments, we can focus in on your inability to differentiate players.
If you think Gustafsson and Matheson are equivalents, I understand why you think any of our young dmen could just be swapped in with no difference. I encourage you to spend some time away from the PlayStation and perhaps watching games with someone who understands hockey as a step towards being able to better understand what you are watching.
bad takes are easy to throw around. grounding a take takes some actual effort, and some degree of coherence. your takes in this post lack coherence, and worse, given your large volume of complaints about the GM, the coach, and your pet peeve players, there's a clear pattern here of wholly inconsistent and contradictory takes.... a whole lot of hot air, no substance.
what you get out of all this complaining and whining,
