3rd youngest team in the league is in a rebuild. I have to keep telling myself that.
The worst part for me is seeing Dach go down so early in the season.
Dach going down that quick definitely stings. There are a few players I really want playing to see what the real future will look like (Suzuki, Caufield, Slaf, Dach, Newhook, Guhle, Barron & Arber). Other players could go down, but those were the guys I really wanted to remain healthy.
As for them being young and in a rebuild, that is the reality. My main issue is that in almost every game, they look overwhelmed defensively. Aside from a few games where they looked like a team who can cause some headaches, they've largely been looking like chickens running around with their heads cut off in their own zone.
Offensively, you want to see more goals. But I don't have an issue with them there. They create chances and their D is active. That part of their game is not what worries me. Defensively however, I'd like them to tighten it up. It's like other teams know that if they get a cycle going, they can hem us in our zone for minutes at a time.
I also feel like they've gotten away from some phsicality. And I don't mean that because Arber is out. But you don't see them finish checks as much, be as aggressive on the forecheck, and sometimes, you see them only want to use their sticks to remove the puck from the opponent rather than use their bodies to separate the player from the puck.