Re: The Ghost Bear- So What Now??
At first, the Gustafsson signing really confused me, but then I was reading more about the decision and, in particular, Fletcher's explanation for bringing in Gustafsson, and I firmly believe that they did so because the team no longer trusts Gostisbehere to run the power play and they don't want to continue using Provorov in that spot. With Niskanen leaving, the team needs Provorov more than ever to be the top dman on this team and he can't necessarily take on more minutes without giving up his PP time. I think they brought in Gustafsson to relieve Provorov, and they will eventually move Gostisbehere, if they get an offer they like.
Despite what a lot of people are suggesting/hoping, I don't think a Gostisbehere trade is imminent. I think unless the team gets an offer they like, they will just hang onto Gostisbehere and he will alternate between being a healthy scratch and a bottom-pairing player with a spot on the secondary power play unit. It seems a bit silly to pay Gostisbehere's salary to have him scratched for 20 games, but he is a insurance if something happens with Gustafsson, and the Flyers are not in cap trouble so they can afford to hang on to him.
I do believe eventually Gostisbehere will be traded, but it won't be until a team offers something reasonable in return.
12 team, H2H, salary cap
1 pt/G or A, 2 pts/W, 1 pt/OTL, 1 pt/SO
Forward: B. Point, M. Necas, A. Debrincat, T. Zegras, J. Bratt, L. Raymond
Defense: J. Morrissey, A. DeAngelo, S. Gostisbehere, D. Doughty
Goalie: T. Demko, E. Merzlikins
Bench: M. Rossi, C. Glass, M. Maccelli, M. Dumba, K. Shattenkirk, F. Andersen
Prospects of Note: L. Stankoven, J. Lekkerimaki, D. Yurov, B. Clarke
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