You really believe that DZ was moved because the fan base was intolerant of his play? What is Sathers history has indicated that would be a factor in his decisions? He never traded Poti or Malik, who faced far more ire than DZ ever has. He only traded Roszival when it was clear he had lost his spot on the roster. He still hasn't dealt Boyle and won't unless it's a purely business decision.
Fans have a very exaggerated sense of to what extent they can effect roster changes. The truth is that they can't. Particularly not with this GM. Players don't get run out of town by fans. They do by management.
DZ was ran out of town by AV with a big assist from Sather (See below), the fans were cheering all the way though.
How can you, with a straight face as a coach, state that DZ is not producing when you put him on his weak side? That's on the coach. Your job is to put your players in position to succeed, he has not done that with DZ. He kept putting him in position to fail, knowing full well that he is not good on the right side. Then when he struggles, he gets benched.
I said back in the fall that it doesn't look like the team is looking to trade DZ otherwise they would showcase him in the best light possible, i.e. put him where he is good at and let his value increase. Otherwise, it's a piss poor asset management. Guess what, they were showcasing him in the worst way possible.
Now contrast that with how Pouillot was handled, he kept getting chance after chance and he kept crapping the bed, and got more chances.
He wasn't getting any better sitting in the press box. DZ was playing better lately, but was a few bad plays away from being benched again. Av showed very little patience with him. I'm not saying the trade is right or wrong. Time will tell. What I saying is that it wasn't working out for DZ in NY anymore. Sather isn't going to fire the coach to appease DZ, he is going to trade him.
Well you missed the whole point. Nobody is asking for Sather to fire AV to appease DZ, that's a straw man argument, The coach's job is know the strengths and weaknesses of his players and to accentuate the strenghts.
DZ belonged on the left side, all AV had to do was watch tape. You'd think that between AV and Ulfie they would figure it out quickly.
Do you know why DZ played better lately? Because he played where he is good at, on the left side. Why did it take this long for AV to figure it out?
Finally, I'd like to comment on Sather, I usually stay clear of blaming Sather for every thing because it's useless, he is the GM, he won't be fired. But what was the point of getting Moore in the Gabby trade? With McDonagh, Staal, DZ on the left side, where does he fit? All I heard in the DZ trade from sather was how they needed a RHD to balance out the D. No **** sherlock! Where were you last year when you had the chance?
If he gets a RHD instead of Moore all this non sense doesn't happen. So yeah, I kinda agree with those that say there is no plan, I just wish they won't keep repeating it on every thread and every other post, it's redundant.
