As someone who has had serious confidence issues at work it's not fun. I've been at a decent place when I felt confident and at other jobs I didn't and felt like I was climbing a mountain with a pile of bricks in my backpack for the simplest shit. That's Mika right now times 100. But it's worse than that feels like it's entire roster other than Cuylle and Berard. I don't know how an entire team can just be in some fog where they look like they've never played hockey before. This is largely the same team as last year. I've never seen anything like this.
I interned with the USC football team in 2012 when I was in grad school. They were pre season #1 and had a shit load of steam and hype behind them after they were surprisingly good the year before (I was around for that one as well.)
I have never seen a team unravel the way that one did and it was
way worse behind closed doors than anyone ever knew. To be on both sides of it (the swell and excitement on the way up to the deflation and all the agony that followed) has been to this day one of the most fascinating things I've ever experienced. I could legit write a book about those 2 years but some of the stories I have are just not mine to tell.
This Ranger team is no where near that yet, but it is incredible what can happen when the vibes get really bad. Theres a level of maturity and mental toughness that is needed to really get through shit like that and when a group doesn't have it, it really just falls apart.
College aged kids not being able to do it (especially when they were led by a HC who himself really wasn't ready for that job) shouldn't have been too surprising. Would be crazy to see it happen with a veteran laden roster that has (despite what people want to say here) been one of the most successful groups in the league over the last 3 seasons.
At least you can trade players in pro spots but we're even in the position where I don't think the guy who makes the trades should really have the power to do anything too drastic. He's had his chance and he hitched himself to this wagon. This mess is as much on him as it is on his predecessor, if not even more so.