Sure is sunny and dry here in Atlanta
In the reoccurring chronicles of former Blackhawks that we're "doomed without", this video popped up via Puck Daddy, on Yahoo. The Big Fluff shows his stellar defensive prowess by doing absolutely nothing and letting last year's league leading goal scorer, Steve Stamkos, redirect a goal off...the Big Fluff, and into the net. The same Fluff that was so necessary to the Hawks. The Fluff that broke everyone's hearts when he was traded. The same Fluff that had a couple of hundred thousand people wasting money on #33 jerseys and shirts, even though anyone with a brain knew he was one of the first to go. The same Fluff that no one in Atlanta knows what to do with. Check out his use of that big body to push people around and clear out the crease in front of his goalie:
Steve Stamkos is 6'1" and weighs 188lbs. Dustin Fluff-lien is 6'4" and weighs 265 lbs. Three inches and almost 80 pounds!!! Fluff may not be able to skate with him, or stop him one-on-one (and he shouldn't), but if there is one thing Fluff should be able to do, it's manhandle him in front of the net. First, he lazily skates back for the puck and plays it with one hand, which results in a turnover, THEN he lets one of the leagues most dangerous goal scorers skate all alone in front of his goalie. Someone please tell me where, in the book of hockey defense, it says this is a good idea. This is just one more example of why he's just an average player that was in the right place at the right time. A flash in the pan. On the Atlanta Thrashers, he's John Scott; with a crazy fro.
Remember, Fernando Pisani once led the league in playoff goals with 14 (which was four less than his regular season total), and now he practically begged for a job, taking the league minimum, to play with the Blackhawks. Does the beginning of that sound strikingly familiar? Something like 17 goals in the entire regular season, last year, and 11 in the playoffs? I hope you enjoyed last spring, Dustin, because you're lined up for tee time NEXT April.