Detroit defenseman Jakub Kindl, in six-plus seasons as a member of the Red Wings organization, hasn't ever quite seemed able to get on, and stay on, head coach Mike Babcock's good side.
He'll play well for a stretch, use all the raw skill and skating ability he has to move up in the rotation, see some time on the power play - and then again find himself either a healthy scratch or playing bottom pair minutes.
It's a confusing situation, not just for Kindl, but for fans and media members in Detroit as well.
"It was puzzling to see him benched midway through a 4-1 victory over Chicago, and I don't think he should have been scratched the next four games," Ansar Khan of mlive.com writes. "Overall, Kindl has played better than he did last season, and the second power-play unit is more productive with Kindl than Danny DeKeyser."
But despite Kindl's mostly positive contributions and better overall play than his coach's eyes would lead you to believe, Khan still feels that Kindl will eventually find himself a member of a new organization.
"But I believe Kindl eventually will be traded, whether it's this season, in the off-season or next season. They have so many defensemen in the system that are projected to reach the NHL - Alexey Marchenko, Ryan Sproul, Nick Jensen, Mattias Backman and Xavier Ouellet, who's here for now - they won't be able to keep all of them in addition to Kronwall, DeKeyser, Ericsson and Smith."
Kindl currently has two goals and 5 assists in 21 games this season, according to hockeydb.com. The 27-year-old has been in and out of the lineup so much this year; it is difficult to get an exact read on his skills and abilities, but that in and of itself may be a clear indication of his tenuous future in red and white.
Kindl's contract, which runs through 2016-17 and carries a $2.4 million cap hit, per CapGeek.com, is a relatively affordable one.
For a team lacking blueline depth that doesn't want to take on a large chunk of salary, Kindl could be a very good fit.