Usually I fight this a bit but lately, I've been thinking a lot. There's a lot to be critical of in this org at the moment, I thought the 10-20 point tax of players coming/going would have softened with Sutter leaving but apparently not.
We churn out "just an NHLer" players at a greater rate than any franchise. That's a tribute to drafting (especially in times of success/purged assets) and development to some degree. However--I question the ability of the guys who are the definition of "just an NHLer" in Craig Johnson, and guys who were good NHLers but you wouldn't consider "high skill" in Stoll, Murray, and Odie--I don't think they have a clue what to do with guys like JAD, Vilardi, Clague. They can teach them two-way play and defense so they're good next level players--who do we have that can take them to the next level? It's arguable the same fate befell guys like Toffoli, Kempe, even Kopitar and Doughty to a degree. They got Kopitar and Doughty to be the best two-way players in the world and play 'winning hockey' but it's arguable they never approached their offensive potential (Kopitar did for one season imo). Not that the last part is truly a complaint, but what happens if we land Lafreniere? I don't care to turn him or Kaliyev into a Selke winner, I want this guy scoring a ****load of points. We don't need 4 third lines.
I've always had questions about our medical staff, that's nothing new. Strength and conditioning, too. This team has looked tired like no one else on the back end of a back-to-back from 2010 on, doesn't matter the coach or style. But it's been even worse since our other dude left after the 2nd Cup.
There's no outright vision. I agree with that. And I'm not sure what the hell style we're playing anymore, frankly. We were a high octane aggressive loose team at the beginning of the year, now we're a tight passive defensive team that can't defend, score, or possess the puck? What are we doing here? I think the whole staff needs a makeover again to align a vision with drafting and development because if we're going to play 1-1-3 counterpunch hockey we need guys that can actually score on their few chances. And I'm not sure I want to watch that garbage anyway.
I'm not trying to overreact to a roadie vs. some great teams in the midst of a lost season when half the team was clearly sick as **** anyway, but those questions have been bugging me for a bit now, because for the first time in a long time, I'm not sure 'whats next?'
From the outside looking in,
The good--goalie coaching, 'average' player development, drafting
The bad--skill player development, gap in culture, minor league team getting obliterated nightly, lack of vision, Luc being involved in anything but feel-good community ****, Luc's colorblindness, our medical staff full of quacks, our strength and conditioning staff
The undecided--TMac, but this could be a problem of my other current undecided, Blake. If I don't hear by this offseason what the purpose/vision is at this point, I'll be firmly on the "Yeah, this guy isn't doing anything but taking the central scouting bureau guide and picking the highest available dude with picks he's acquiring by sucking and tearing the roster apart."
