Av-merican wrote:
http://prohockeytalk.nbcsports.com/2013/10/10/report-kyle-wellwood-retires-from-hockey/
He was playing in Switzerland and decided to call it a career.
I just don't get NHL front office executives sometimes. He's easily better than a lot of bottom-six forwards in the league right now. Hell, he's better than a lot of top-six guys currently playing. Not a lot of size, grit, or even tenacity, but he played an exceedingly smart game, could score, and certainly did well enough in the shootout. Why didn't anyone want him?
I'm hopeful things will change for future Wellwoods, but for the three reasons you mentioned, it's tough for teams to justify an investment in him. Even though smarts/instincts have more staying power in this sport and allow you to compete when your speed and injuries take away some of the other things (even grit/tenacity go, we've seen plenty of older players go soft from being battle weary).
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