I strongly disagree, here's why. If we get a good player through this draft the vast majority of his time here Sullivan won't be his coach. Sullivan being here next year won't hurt us in that regard.
PPL need to understand that the core is tethered to Sullivan. So, Crosby is as big a reason as to why Sullivan is still here as much as anyone. The core has blood on their hands also. And it's stifling this team in taking a decisive step forward.
Almost like a politician who doesn't want to give up power. They need to move over or just f***in leave!
It amazes me how Sullivan is the only villain in many posters eyes. They can't criticize Crosby or the core even though they're enabling it!
It is my turn to strongly disagree, but hey, that is perfectly OK!
Has ANYBODY ever asked Crosby, Malkin, Rust, Rakell, Letang and Karlsson whether a coaching change would be a complete non-starter for them? And if the answer is a collective yes, then isn't that what YOU (Ryder71) want? You want scorched earth, it ain't happening so long as these guys are the core of this team.
In fact, you REALLY should not want a coaching change. Because a coaching change can do for this squad what Spencer Carberry did for Washington. Yeah yeah, they have more top-end prospects, they have a much better goaltending tandem, etc. etc. Give Dubas the OPPORTUNITY to hire someone else and construct a team as he sees fit, and the results could be very interesting. OR, give Dubas the opportunity to completely rebuild this team as you (Ryder71) want, without a coach who believes Mike Sullivan-types are better for a retool than legitimate prospects, and who knows what can happen.
Sure, let's criticize Crosby for having one of the best seasons ever by a 37-year-old player. Come on, dude.
I honestly cannot tell you whether Dubas is a hero or a villain. Because I still don't believe he is driving this bus. I don't think Dubas acquired Connor Timmins to serve as a LEFT defenseman; I don't think he acquired Conor Dewar because he sees top-six winger upside!; I don't think he acquired Philip Tomasino because he thinks Tomasino is perfect fourth-line winger material; and I don't think he hung onto Rickard Rakell at the trade deadline because he thought it would be a great idea to move him from first-line LW to second-line RW. And I am pretty sure he did not trade for Erik Karlsson because of his SIXTY-point potential, but rather his point-per-game potential. AND, I am pretty sure Dubas hired David Quinn (allegedly) to get the most out of Karlsson, not to bottom out defensively!
But the players enabling seems like a reach to me. Maybe at some point in the past, they were not prepared to move on from Sullivan and were vocal about it. What can ANY of the core players say now, after three consecutive non-playoff appearances and one playoff series win since 2017? EIGHT years is a long long time. How many teams have rebuilt/retooled/remade themselves during these 8 precious years? The Canadiens were in the Stanley Cup finals in 2021 (yeah yeah, it was not a real final blah blah blah. Everybody played by the same rules, though). Four years later, they are on the verge of a playoff spot. I'd argue they are favorites to win the Atlantic Division next regular season. We have already discussed ad nauseum what the Capitals have done. Alex Ovechkin must be SO MUCH smarter than our core guys, because he did not seem to have a MAJOR issue with Peter Laviolette being fired and a raw rookie coming in.
If we continue to lay blame everywhere other than the man behind the bench, then he will NEVER leave. So you're great rebuilding plan (Ryder71) will all be for naught because Sullivan will still be here. Why would they fire him after the core is gone? Not like there is anything to save at that point. Might as well stink for a decade. As long as Liverpool and the Red Sox make FSG money, they won't care.
So no, I completely disagree that this is shared blame. This is about one guy overstaying his welcome in a job that he should have been fired from at least 5 years ago.
