Canes Country Exit Analysis: Scott Walker

Too hard to be objective for me on this one. That OT goal in Boston remains too huge in my brain (with the punch and wife’s illness as the ‘back story’).

With his playing only 41 games, I wimped out and gave him an incomplete. This season will be his opportunity to earn his next contract and see how he will finish his career.

This really is the first player that I thought it would make sense to give an incomplete to… I did however give Scottie a C.

Yes, his statistical numbers are low. But so were his games and TOI within the games. And his injuries were the type that could effect someone when they return. His concussion was from a cheap shot from Matt Cooke that all Bruin whiners should review to define what a “sucker punch” truly is. Scott played with an ability to fight that no other ’Cane, except Gleason, was willing or able to provide. I agree that he is overpaid for what he provided. Although how much was that last goal worth ? Priceless.

Scotty is one of my favorite players from a character standpoint, but it is really hard to justify his salary.

If we’re talking about a grade of C being average, then I think I have to give him a D, maybe D+ if we’re counting the playoffs. He’s the kind of guy that you have to have on your team, just not for 2.5 million.

That being said, watching him deck A. Ward and then be the guy to send the B’s home after the s***storm from Boston was my fondest memory in the playoffs.

I really wanted to give Walker an A, but for the money he’s just not quite there anymore. I can accept that he’s getting older and it’s taking longer to recover from injuries. But again, the worth just isn’t quite there.
Most would say “the punch” was infamous – I thought it was simply hysterical (as long as Ward was seriously injured) and set the pace for the Canes to beat the Broons. I’m wasn’t a big fan of A.Ward his first time in Raleigh anyways.
Looking back at his career stats, it’s pretty evident getting a full 82 games out of Walker is a bad gamble. I think the reason he put up such big numbers with the Preds was because he was relied on a lot more for offense than he has been in Raleigh.
All that said, I’d much rather have him on the team for 2.5M than not have him on the team at all.

This is probably the toughest one of them all for me; like hockeymom, I’m way too sentimental for this. Based on pure numbers, he’s probably a C/D, but with all that he went through this season (both on and off the ice) it’s hard to be anything but pleased with him. I can’t imagine a better team guy than Scott Walker. IMO, his injuries this season (one as a result of defending Cullen for the first time) make it hard to actually give him a grade, so I too went with an incomplete. My lasting memory of the Boston series will be his goal and his postgame interview (and the tears I shed when they replayed the whole thing after news about his wife came out). I truly hope that if this coming season is his last, we find a way to get him his name on the Cup.

Scottie is good person, a good leader, and was the physical force on this team last year. With that being said, he did miss 41 games and did not have much of an impact on the score sheet. I think his season was somewhat of a disappointment (excluding the Boston Series) and I think he would agree. You can’t help the team win from the hot tub. I love the guy’s attitude and game, just not at his currenty price tag.