McClellan used to call him Steady Eddie for all the reasons you enumerate. He was quite effective paired with Gabrikov, and the nature of his game tends to hide the value of his low, hard point shot. The Kings will miss him, although his contract strikes me as a bit generous and I don't think he's a top-pair guy on an elite team.
Steady Eddie is spot on. Agreed on his limitations, though. If he's ever on your top pairing, it should only be as the responsible counterpoint to a high-end puck-mover (e.g. a better version of Lindgren next to Fox).
I feel like this was the right time for a change. Roy gets a raise and maybe a bigger role, while L.A. hopefully turns the page on the ol' 1-3-1. If that's the case, then Clarke and Spence are the more important assets—especially with defense-first guys like Anderson, Gavrikov and Edmundson patrolling the left side.
McClellan used to call him Steady Eddie for all the reasons you enumerate. He was quite effective paired with Gabrikov, and the nature of his game tends to hide the value of his low, hard point shot. The Kings will miss him, although his contract strikes me as a bit generous and I don't think he's a top-pair guy on an elite team.
Steady Eddie is spot on. Agreed on his limitations, though. If he's ever on your top pairing, it should only be as the responsible counterpoint to a high-end puck-mover (e.g. a better version of Lindgren next to Fox).
I feel like this was the right time for a change. Roy gets a raise and maybe a bigger role, while L.A. hopefully turns the page on the ol' 1-3-1. If that's the case, then Clarke and Spence are the more important assets—especially with defense-first guys like Anderson, Gavrikov and Edmundson patrolling the left side.