I'm not a huge hater of any players on this team, and honestly I haven't noticed White at all, probably because of his injury. But it's good to know that Babcock is capable of scratching an established player. I guess Cleary and Flip are considered too valuable to sit before this?
I would be mad, too, to be the first healthy scratch of a significant player, considering he hasn't been the worst disappointment.
I'm with you. I feel a combination of surprise and confusion. I think this is one of the only times since Babcock has been here that I can recall him benching an established player. Its made more confusing by the fact that: 1) a guy like Cleary wasn't benched way before White, and 2) that he waited until after the Wings/White have started to have some success. I suppose healthy bodies are part of the reason, but it seems like this is a little late, considering the 5-7 games span where White was garbage defensively and producing nothing offensively.
I pretty much understood that Babcock just plain didn't use benching as a means to spark/discipline players. Now I'm just confused. And I know we need to get Quincey reps to test his injury, but he still remains Duke of Suck, A-Number-1 when it comes to blueliners.
