Farewell, Benn Ferriero
By Mike Reed
A quick one for a player who had a short career with the Sharks. When the Sharks drafted Ferriero, he jumped immediately into my consciousness; my buddy Sam announced to anyone who’d listen that he was a fellow BC grad. Every time I saw him play he was creating chances, banging bodies, and contributing all over the ice. I was shocked to see that Ferriero only had 22 points in 92 games. And that his lone playoff point was the big OT goal he put in during the 2011 playoffs against Detroit (pictured above). They even did one of those “History Will Be Made” commercials out of it. It felt like he was always in the mix, always around the net. I know anyone could get some goals playing with Joe Thornton setting them up, but it always looked to me like he and Ferriero were an injury away from becoming a solid duo. Every time they played together they created opportunities. Still, putting Ferriero on the big line versus Marleau, Pavelski, Couture, Heatley…it’s a hard sell for any coach. So Ferriero was relegated to 3rd and 4th line duty and became expendable. Sad, but understandable.
If I’m a free agent, I’m looking to go to a place where I’ll play with top tier talent and hopefully win a Cup. Building a list of teams that qualify, Pittsburgh has to be near the top. Also, as Sam pointed out, this article in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette discusses how similar the BC and Pens systems are, so I’m sure he’ll find a comfort zone right away. Good luck, Benny, see you on November 29th.
~BB
Best Free Agent destinations if winning is your only concern (excluding San Jose)
1) Pittsburgh Penguins
2) LA Kings
3) NY Rangers
4) Chicago Blackhawks
5) Philadelphia Flyers
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