Around these boards, there is a lot of sniping between the Torts supporters and the Torts detractors. Is it possible the team is experiencing something similar? Girardi, McDonagh, Callahan, all experienced big success with Torts. I can't see any of them wanting him gone. Assuming the reports are true, that would basically create a locker room where some players who loved life under the old coach now have a new coach thanks to their teammates. Can you imagine being in their shoes? You bust your ass for years, earn a reputation and thrive under a boss, and all of a sudden, you find out that some of your co-workers ran to the general manager to get your guy fired? Suddenly there is a new guy, talking about changes and "clean slates." A clean slate is great for Richards (lousy season), Nash (lousy post-season) and Kreider (lousy season). It wipes away their mistakes. For guys who thrived under Torts, a "clean slate" doesn't wipe away mistakes, it wipes away accomplishments. That would have to be tough to handle.
The quotations from post-game absolutely floored me:
Girardi: "We've just got to figure out what the heck is going on and start being a hard team to play against, and get back to what we were successful at the last couple of years."
Callahan: "There's just no pride going on right now in our defensive zone."
We are four games in, and Girardi is publicly calling for a return to Torts hockey, and Callahan, the captain, is essentially putting all of the blame on the D.
I really hope this isn't the case (and again, it's not like there's any proof for it--I'm basically just thinking out loud here), but if this IS happening, the roster might have to be blown up sooner rather than later (hard for two groups to get on the same page after something like that). Eh, I'm probably just over-reading the situation.
