Brad Stuart

It's hard to miss Brad Stuart. A lot of good things have, been said about him. But he seems to have been involved in a lot of bad trades recently (Stuart being the bad part).

Traded from a losing San Jose team (to a losing) Boston team for Joe Thornton. Many people might point to Thornton as the reason San Jose made the playoffs, but it appears that the loss of a key defenseman wasn't too big of a problem. (Boston ended up with 74 points)

From Boston, Stuart (along with Primeau) was traded for a 1st round draft pick, Kobasew and a solid defender: Andrew Ference. Interestingly, after the trade Calgary struggled and just squeezed themselves into a play-off spot

Stuart is now playing for a team that, as of last year, appeared to only need a goaltender: Los Angeles. Labarbera has provided the goaltending, but now the team lacks any sort of defense. Allowing over 30 shots per hour at even strength and the shots that hit the net are almost 20% more difficult to stop.

Stuart may not be the worst on the team in terms of plus-minus, but he certainly is up there with his -10 (and another -2 vs Detroit tonight).

Looking at a short window of history, Stuart may have just signed and been traded to bad teams, his record in the previous 187 games is appalling: 42% winning percentage.

"[Brad Stuart] is prone to mistakes in pressure situations, which has led him into the coach's doghouse in the past. Doesn't use his size effectively enough." - Sportsnet.ca, what more can I really say...