Hockey is like any other sport, where there are these veteran players just floating out in the ether. They don't get paid much, they don't do much, they come in for a year and fill a jersey, and then they move on. Every time one of these guys is signed, the hope is that you catch lightning in a bottle. Either through better health, or clicking with your system that he didn't in another's, or the comfort of a new city and new teammates will bring out something that you hadn't seen or expected from that player since his younger days. Such was the hope with Fernando Pisani. It didn't work. He came, he played, he didn't really waver much from the "meh" category, and now he'll be on his way somewhere else. And that team's GM will know he'll get an honest effort, hope for more, expect nothing more. And that's probably what he'll get.
Positives: Well, Fernando played more games than we expected, reaching the 60 total for the first time in four seasons. Briefly seemed to show some chemistry with Dave Bolland and Bryan Bickell in December, when he had six points in nine games. And.....scene.
Negatives: Too many. Pisani just couldn't keep up with anybody outside of the fourth line, and even there didn't really help provide the energy that a fourth line is expected to produce. His biggest strength was supposed to be as a penalty killer, but he was actually the worst forward on the Hawks in that department. The blame shouldn't totally lie with him, as no forward would look good on the kill with Duncan Keith and Niklas Hjalmarsson going through such a terrible case of "bad at hockey". Pisani still got injured too, and when not paired with Bolland just didn't provide anything in any direction. Nadir came late in the season when he found himself scratched, and when he did dress was getting about as many minutes as John Scott.
Contract Status: Unrestricted Free Agent
Keep Him or Ship Him: He's gone. Pisani is part of the bottom of the roster that let the Hawks down so badly this season, forcing an overworked and overproducing top to shoulder a load it could not carry. Pisani's a good guy, and someone will take a chance that they can rediscover the player that poured in 14 goals in the 2006 playoffs. But it won't be here. Pisani was what we expected, and not what we hoped. But that's ok, he wasn't anything less than we expected either. But his spot needs an upgrade, he won't be providing it.
