How about a Sharks fan who has watched dozens of games of Fowler over the years? Sure, I'm biased against the Ducks but not nearly as much as Ducks' fans are biased in favor of the Ducks and you know how I can be objective about actual great players like Lindholm, Rakell, and Vatanen.
With all due respect, your post history suggests you are biased against Fowler. I'm not sure why you'd try to deny that. You don't think fans of other teams can be biased against individual players? Of course they can. Just like they can be biased for players. If you can have favorites on other teams, you can have players you dislike more. That's a terrible argument on your part.
As for "actual great players", that kind of says it all, doesn't it? Moving forward, Rakell and Vatanen might make more sense for Anaheim, but there is little argument that they are currently better. They
might become better, but currently? No. They are not better players. Not when you actually consider the roles they play. Lindholm is comparable. Better defensively, worse in the puck moving department, but with more upside. I'm very excited about his future, but currently, he and Fowler are pretty close. They're just better at different things, and I'm hoping Lindholm becomes that #1 defenseman Anaheim has been looking for.
The bottom line is Anaheim fans see the good and bad of these players far more than you do. Our team's success is in our best interest. Fowler made us a better team. He'd likely to continue to make us a better team heading into this upcoming season, and in an ideal world they'd be able to keep him. That just may not be in the cards. Anaheim has some needs to address, and Fowler will be a UFA in two years.
