In Slade's defence, it can't be easy to come in from the cold to perform miracles.
It's the sort of stuff lotteries and tour ambassadors are made of, just ask Stephen "The Beaver" Donald.
On the flip side, Beauden Barrett and Aaron Cruden were always going to go on tour this Sunday to Chicago and the United Kingdom.
Without doubt veteran Daniel Carter has the best credentials in that position and will be among the All Blacks greats when the curtain falls on his career.
His mind, bar missing penalty kicks under pressure at the height of his career, is leaps and bounds ahead of his successors.
But should Carter be boarding that flight on Sunday?
No, because there's compelling evidence his body isn't in the same league as his mind.
But when romantic notions - such as sending out an SOS to a beer-sipping, whitebait-fishing reject to help lift the Rugby World Cup becomes the essence of a movie script - start eclipsing pragmatic perceptions, then anything is possible.
Carter last played a test (40 minutes) in November at Twickenham and clocked up the same number of minutes for Canterbury in the ITM Cup recently after playing intermittently for the Crusaders.
Hansen has made it clear Carter will remain in his equation and that's his prerogative.
A coach who hasn't baulked from injecting fresh blood, he reserves the right to keep Carter on the Bunsen burner.
In fact, the Chicago game will be a convenient appraisal to see if Carter's body is able and willing against the Eagles, who can be physical, although it could be ill-conceived if he picks up another injury or aggravates an existing one.
For that reason Slade should have his luggage handy to join the ABs on tour unless, of course, Hansen decides to pursue with Barrett and Cruden.
The reality is Carter is the best person to make a decision on whether he has lost the appetite for top-level footy.
The professionalism in him, no doubt, will prevent individualism from getting in the way of what's best for the collective.
Whether Barrett or Cruden will start any match is irrelevant because they offer Hansen choices based on who will be inside and outside them in the backline with an eye on their opposition counterparts.
Surviving a rigorous World Cup schedule will be another step up for 100-test veteran Carter who has yet to establish a dossier at the business end of previous tourneys.
Some will argue Carter should have joined the Ted and Beaver All Blacks Tours package but that's unfair.
Logic suggests Carter could be used sporadically off the bench, especially in the knockout stages, to maximise his input while minimising his risk of injury.
Like Keven Mealamu's deployment, Carter's presence could provide a modicum of serenity in the final few frenetic minutes.
The rate of concussions also puts pressure on teams to stretch the boundaries of versatility in most departments.
That is why a number of midfielders such as Ma'a Nonu, Malakai Fekitoa, Ryan Crotty and Sonny Bill Williams comes into the equation.
The first five-eighths debate also deflects attention from other positions.
Should captain Richie McCaw shuffle down to No6 to make way for Sam Cane at No7 or will the latter keep warming the bench as Norm Hewitt did while Sean Fitzpatrick carved up meaningless milestones?
Will Ben Smith return to No15 and Cory Jane make way for Israel Dagg on the wing?
It is imperative to note Julian Savea, as he was against the Springboks, was relatively quiet against the Wallabies with Adam Ashley-Cooper zipping past him on Saturday night.
Should Savea have come inside, as Smith did against the Boks, to forage and feed?
You see, heroes and villains on this tour will be as redundant as match results.
The primary goal should be to see how the men in black cope on the road and clock valuable time in nutting out the best-fit combinations.
A crusade to prove the ABs are the best in the world is a futile exercise. They are reigning world champions, stripes earned three years ago in the previous tournament.
If the Bledisloe Cup dead rubber revealed anything it is that teams' track records mean little when push comes to shove.
Something as fractious as the Beale/Patston debacle can, perilously for the opposition, become an adhesive agent that spurs a team to realise its potential.
Come this time next year in England, knockout stage bonus offers will give way to the nothing-to-lose mentality.
Fans are in no doubt now that the ABs, Springboks and the Wallabies have the credentials to beat each other on any given day, purely on passion.
With Michael Cheika as Wallabies coach, the ABs and Boks will have to revisit their templates.
History suggests hosts England and France have the propensity to rise to the occasion, too, in the World Cup.
The Web Ellis Cup's already starting to froth.
