smelly Posted July 20, 2003 Author Share Posted July 20, 2003 Nedorost will probably become a good player, but Messier's useless. LaCroix is no idiot, and, although he'll pay a pretty penny to acquire a star (see the Blake move), he doesn't make panic moves, and he doesn't get ripped off; in light of the Battaglia and Worrell trades, the only reasonable conclusion is that he has determined that Vrbata and Nederost are never going to live up to the hype. Given his track record, I'm betting he's right. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DeVFaN Posted July 20, 2003 Share Posted July 20, 2003 Nedorost will probably become a good player, but Messier's useless. LaCroix is no idiot, and, although he'll pay a pretty penny to acquire a star (see the Blake move), he doesn't make panic moves, and he doesn't get ripped off; in light of the Battaglia and Worrell trades, the only reasonable conclusion is that he has determined that Vrbata and Nederost are never going to live up to the hype. Given his track record, I'm betting he's right. Vrbate is *already* better then Battaglia. What a horribly stupid trade that was. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smelly Posted July 21, 2003 Author Share Posted July 21, 2003 Nedorost will probably become a good player, but Messier's useless. LaCroix is no idiot, and, although he'll pay a pretty penny to acquire a star (see the Blake move), he doesn't make panic moves, and he doesn't get ripped off; in light of the Battaglia and Worrell trades, the only reasonable conclusion is that he has determined that Vrbata and Nederost are never going to live up to the hype. Given his track record, I'm betting he's right. Vrbate is *already* better then Battaglia. What a horribly stupid trade that was. I agree -- and it only proves my point: Battaglia is a marginal role player, but he is the kind of depth guy that the Avs need. However, you don't trade future stars for depth players, especially with a team like Carolina that is desperate to shed payroll and start over. The fact that LaCroix traded Vrbata for Battaglia -- even if, in the long run Vrbata turns out to be a better player (I suspect he will) demonstrates that LaCroix believes that Vrbata will never live up to the hype that said he would be an all-out stud. And I suspect that, though he will certainly have more offensive upside than Worrell, LaCroix suspects that Nederost will never be more than a decent second liner, instead of the All-Star he was originally predicted to become. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sarge18 Posted July 21, 2003 Share Posted July 21, 2003 Smelly even so, he just traded a potential 2nd line center and a great role player, for a freakin ENFORCER! Sure the 2nd round pick helps even things out, but if Nederost can fill that 2nd line roll the Avs got ripped. The only thing that Worrell can do is drop the gloves. Other then that he is a liability in every other aspect of the game. A guy that plays 6 minutes a game does nothing to improve "team" toughness when the majority of the team is the ones who have to play tough. Sure he will may prevent tough guys from taking liberties with the top 6 fowards, but its not like they have to go with him. Instigator rule has taken the accountability out of the game. Hell personally im gunna love seeing Worrell have to deal with big Georges 6 times a year now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Belizarius Posted July 21, 2003 Share Posted July 21, 2003 Enforcers rarely play in playoffs... see Senators Rob Ray Nedorost can be a force in Florida, because he has a very good friend in Novak and Krajicek... the Panthers are supposed to offer Bednar, Novoseltsev and Shvidki around the league now... Worrell became expandable with Horidchuk, and the development of prospect Grant McNeill. I'm very intersted to see wich player will come to Florida next season, because they have an awesome group of youngsters... potential superstars, but it's only potential. If every prospect lives up to expectation, Florida will be a terror soon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Triumph Posted July 21, 2003 Share Posted July 21, 2003 But Worrell's one of the best enforcers in the game and I feel he's capable of playing 10 minutes. I've seen him physically dominate games. There are very few players left in the NHL who can do that. What Lacroix has been doing has been strange. Remember, he dealt Steve Reinprecht for Keith Ballard, and now he has this high 2nd round pick now too, for the future.. Lacroix is one of those GMs who's not afraid to 'waste' assets. Vrbata for Battaglia, probably a bad trade for the future, but who's to say Vrbata isn't another Jan Hlavac, Josef Marha type whose stats are buoyed by having 2 of the top centers in the game? Same with Nedorost. And in all truth, what else do the Avs need at this point? Not a D. Maybe some penalty killers.. but other than that they seem set to begin the season. Battaglia and Worrell are tough to play against. With a team of effete superstars, the Avs will need players to stand in front of the net and absorb hits, as well as dish them out, and both guys are willing to do that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smelly Posted July 21, 2003 Author Share Posted July 21, 2003 Battaglia and Worrell are tough to play against. With a team of effete superstars, the Avs will need players to stand in front of the net and absorb hits, as well as dish them out, and both guys are willing to do that. Exactly -- that's why LaCroix was willing to give up disappointing but talented prospects in exchange for these guys. And that's the difference between the Rangers and the Avs: the Rangers have always gone for the flash, but have never filled out the guts of the team with role players who will do the dirty work. Colorado now has more flash than the Rangers evere have, but also have the D and the role players to make it work. Their biggest concern, which is obvious, is in nets. And for some reason, I suspect that, after rolling through the regular season, the 2004 playoffs will be a major bummer for the Avs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pepperkorn Posted July 21, 2003 Share Posted July 21, 2003 I personally enjoy hating Worrell and I think he kind of gets a bad rap personally. While I wouldn't sing his praises to the rafters I like him in the league. He's a role player! As noted, someone has to protect the new girls on the Avs! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MaddDog Posted July 21, 2003 Share Posted July 21, 2003 Battaglia and Worrell are tough to play against. Eh... Battaglia ain't THAT tough to play against . He's not overly massive, nor is he a mean S.O.B. He has his moments when he wants to hit or go to the net, but (in Carolina anyway) he didn't always want to get his nose dirty. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DWon Posted July 21, 2003 Share Posted July 21, 2003 They waived parker so they had to get someone to protect the boys. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pepperkorn Posted July 21, 2003 Share Posted July 21, 2003 Battaglia and Hinote are fvcknuts! Screw Stevens hitting either of them I'd rather they both charge Scotty and he zip out of the way allowing the morons to collide at take each other out! Worrell at least looks menacing! His cheap shots come from a good place if that makes sense. He just can't play quite well enough but he loves it. The other two are just little *ricks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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