Quoting: yycofred
75% of his career points are even strength, 30 if his 49 points last season were even strength.. his numbers 5 on 5 in close games are excellent indicating he's a strong defensive forward that has a knack for clutch goals. He's far from a PP specialist. You gotta stop with the Phillips Ruzicka stuff, there's a reason Phillips passed through waivers, Ruzicka needs to make the team as a center as opposed to giving him a shot on the wing where he's rarely played, just because Toffoli doesn't skate fast enough for your liking. Throwing Phillips or Ruzicka on the top line immediately opens up laughable line matching opportunities for other coaches, your top line goes against the other teams best night in night out, you'd have to think other teams would be dying to get a shot against the Huberdeau - Lindholm - Phillips line.
That was the past, this is the present. Toffoli + Lindholm & Huberdeau doesn't work 5on5 unless it's on a Breakout Odd Numbered Rush.
Toffoli should be on a line with Coleman & Backlund, which would be the better Shut Down line against the other Teams 1st & 2nd Lines. Toffoli is very efficient on the back check stick checking the puck away from guys like McDavid & Draisaitl and will get far more and better offensive opportunities against offensive first minded players.
I absolutely won't stop suggesting Phillips & Ruzicka deserve a chance to play with more offensively talented & skilled players, as we don't know what they can do till we see them play. Lots of quality players passed through waivers, it happens, especially when Teams already have their rosters set and have no cap space or contract slots available to bring more players in.
We can't keep just rating & valuing players based on when they were Drafted. They could be the next Pavelski, Gaudreau, Mangiapane, Garland, Bratt & Sharangovich. If they can score on the Top Line in the AHL, they can probably do it in the NHL too. Putting them on the 4th Line with Lucic & Lewis and expecting them to produce is just nonsense, yet Ruzicka did it anyways and Ruzicka has never been given a chance at RW, only LW once in the pre-season. Any time Phillips has played with the Flames, he has been Dangerous.
Yes, Phillips is small, but I bet he Checks and Back Checks better than Boeser and that he'll open up more space and chances for Lindholm & Huberdeau than Toffoli will. Unfortunately we'll likely never know though because of Sutter's Short Sighted Stubborness and Sizeism. Great Coach but He's Not Perfect either