I'm not so sure signing an NHL player is the fix this hockey team needs.
For starters, the NHL lockout is, as the last day or so has shown, a very fluid situation that could change in a week, or keep going all season.
Personally my hunch is that it will be sorted sometime before the winter classic, but obviously the sooner the better. I think the latest offer from the league is just smoke and mirrors and more a PR exercise to put the owners in a better light.
What would bringing in an NHL'er, short term, actually do for the club? Put bums on seats for a few weeks for sure. No doubt sell a few jerseys, gain a bit of hype, make the local paper and so on. I'm sure it would satisfy the short term needs of an element of the fanbase if nothing else.
But what happens when the guys return to the NHL? The fad fans have satisfied their curiosity and gone onto something else ( or back to grumbling about everything! ), the jersey gets worn or ends up on eBay, the paper finds something else to talk about and were back to square one.People's opinions of the team are up and down more times than a hookers knickers anyway, largely based on the previous result, so I wouldn't imagine that the high of a NHL'er wouldn't last too long once they departed back to the show.
The question is, what is bringing in an NHL'er going to do for a team that so far, hasn't consistently got going on all 6 cylinders? If the team is going to improve as a unit, it needs to do it as a unit i.e. all together and over a period of time. Will a (highly likely) short term fix help that, or would it not be more viable to explore the existing option further, i.e.
1) The current team continues working on weak areas to improve as they are, or
2) If having done that, a solution can't be found and there are still issues, then look to bring someone in more long term ( an AHL level player for example ) who would be guaranteed for the season.
Let's be realistic here,and with all due respect, the NHL guys that are here in the EIHL are hardly the cream of the crop are they.Yes they play in, or have played in the show, but as 3rd/4th line/checking line guys. The big name NHL guys here in Europe have gone to the KHL, Scandinavia,Czech Rep, Switzerland and Germany.
With the exception of Drew Miller who's secured himself a regular spot with the Red Wings the last 3 seasons, the other guys have bounced between the NHL and AHL or been put on waivers by their NHL team. Given that, doesn't it make more sense then to try and sign an AHL calibre guy for the long term, instead of a borderline NHL/AHL guy just for the kudos and for some an apparent short term fix to a longer term problem.
