Sheng Peng
“Pretty surprising.”
That’s what an NHL scout told me about the number of talented RFAs not qualified on Wednesday who became UFAs.
Obviously, a flat cap and pandemic-related revenue concerns played some role.
On the other hand, some of these RFAs are more sizzle than steak.
“He’s an empty player.”
Which freshly-christened UFA — Anthony Duclair, Andreas Athanasiou, Vinnie Hinostroza, Nick Cousins, or Dominik Kahun — was this scout talking about?
The scout also added extra thoughts about Brendan Perlini and Troy Stecher.
This, by the way, concludes my San Jose Sharks free agency preview — besides the aforementioned UFAs, I received exclusive reports about 24 other UFAs from assorted NHL scouts.
Curious what the scouts think about Mikael Granlund, Craig Smith, Erik Haula, Evgenii Dadonov, Carl Soderberg, Jesper Fast, Vladislav Namestinikov, Josh Leivo, Tyler Toffoli, Bobby Ryan, Michael Grabner, Kyle Turris, Alex Galchenyuk, Cody Eakin, Colin Wilson, Conor Sheary, Ilya Kovalchuk, Jimmy Vesey, Mattias Janmark, Michael Frolik, Pat Maroon, Tyler Ennis, Vladimir Sobotka, or Wayne Simmonds?
You won’t find this much detail anywhere else!
Anthony Duclair
Scout: I’ll be curious to see what he’s looking for.
What did he end up with? 23 goals? But he had 21 in freaking three months. Then he went right south.
What are you going to get from him every year?
I know what he is: He’s not a very smart player. He skates well, he’s got skill, but he isn’t a true finisher. His 23 goals are an illusion. And he might want to get paid like that.
I don’t think he’s going to get what he thinks he gets. I don’t see him as a regular 25-goal scorer.
He might sit a long time.
Andreas Athanasiou
Scout: To me, he’s an empty player.
He plays once every six games.
He’s got skills, but he doesn’t show up to play. You don’t know what you’re going to get.
How can you not play [hard] in Edmonton for Ken Holland who came to get you and gave up two second-round picks?
I watched him a bit and I was like where is he? What’s he doing?
My take on him is until he gets his head wrapped around what he needs to be, he’s not going to be what others think he’s going to be. Because I think he always wants to play higher up and play a certain way — and I don’t think it equates to success. He doesn’t have a good foundation.
He can skate, but he’s a soft player. You don’t know what you’re going to get from night to night. Those guys don’t last.
He doesn’t have that acceptance of being who the team wants him to be. It’s not accepting how you have to play to stay in the top-nine.
I didn’t like him in Edmonton. I can see why they didn’t qualify him.
Vinnie Hinostroza
Scout: Ah. Hinostroza. Geez. You’re killing me.
He and Athanasiou, they’re the same thing. Soft player, doesn’t play much to the inside. Plays perimeter, shows up once every four games.
Has a reach in, reach out game. Not determined enough.
He’s got enough skill, enough speed, enough smarts, just not enough game. Not enough of the other things.
Come on! Play. Play like you want a career.
Some guys aren’t able to do the things you want from them consistently. Some of them aren’t mentally strong enough. Some of them don’t want to go there physically. It’s hard to play on the inside because you’re going to get hit and smacked around. But if you want a career, that’s where it is.
You can’t be perimeter all the time. Athanasiou, Hinostroza, Perlini…that’s the same path.
Nick Cousins
Scout: I got time for Cousins. He’s going to land somewhere.
He’s a versatile player, he can play all three forward positions. He plays on the power play. He’s smart. He’s not selfish. He’s dependable.
It won’t take him very long. He’ll be scooped up pretty quickly.
He’s probably a third-liner. He can play up a bit in the second but not long-term.
Dominik Kahun
Scout: He’s a real worker. A third-line guy who has surprising skill.
I don’t know why he wasn’t qualified.
That was a surprise.
Troy Stetcher
Scout: He’ll have no trouble getting a job, I think. He’s a competitor. I like him.