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How would YOU tackle this early season slump?

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Stephen said:
Dubas seemed back into a corner and he went out and made some long bets with Murray. It's almost incredible that he swung so wildly at that but somehow Samsonov fell into our laps. I just think of the $4 million + that could have gone into some additional platoon goalie and whatever other stuff in the dumpster dive that could have given the team some different tools.

In terms of how to fix it. I take my time time. If I'm an incoming president I just let the team get to whatever level they get to and make my decisions from there. If this is a take a step back year, so be it, but make good preparations to take a couple steps forward next year, and get critical contracts signed. Can't keep making crazy bets chasing after the Dubas vision if it's not going to go anywhere.
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I think whoever comes in next is going to have to absolutely hit on whatever moves are made in the off-season in order to convince Matthews to stay. One saving grace (so far) is Dubas does not have us tied down to any anchor contracts like a Marleau going forward. Kerfoot, Holl, Muzzin (most likely) are going to be coming off the books by default which gives us some retooling room. Highly doubt Matt Murray is on the roster also.

Everything about this season screams lame duck GM, I get big time JFJ vibes.

And to answer OP's question: Aside from a coaching change, there's not much that can be done other than tossing the lines in a blender in hopes to spread out some offense. As things are currently constructed, the roster simply isn't good enough.
 
Something I've repeated every season so far since the core has been here.

Alot of high talented players are used to dominating with just some effort. They give 100% once in a while, get the goals, win the games. They've been doing all their lives and some take a long while to change when they hit the NHL.

That shit works in the lower tier leagues which is why they kept doing it. Doesn't work that way at the NHL level.

Our best players are once in a while putting forth the effort. Not at the same time though (I'm looking at you Matthews and Marner). Tavares puts in the work. So does Nylander. Yes, once in a while they will be sub-par but overall they're the only shinning light we see from our core.

Keefe needs to find ways to motivate Matthews and Marner and if he can't, Dubas needs to find a coach that can.

This has been a problem each and every start of season. It's also quite obvious in mid and end season, when they "play down to their opponent ".

Those are our stars, and the younger, bottom six take their cues from them. Older players like Simmonds, Tavares and Spezza (last season) know it takes alot more than just talent.

It's lazyness. Pur and simple. Put in the work, get the results. Go to the hard places. It's not rocket science by any means.
 
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Al14 said:
As a G.M., I would be make a minor trade to send a message to the players. I would also let the rest of the NHL know that I would be open to hear offers for any core player on the team.

As a coach, I would be benching any player that makes any huge mistakes or appears to be dogging it and not putting in an honest effort on the ice.

Healthy scratches for ANY players that are not earning their keep. Yes, I would sit Matthews, Marner, Nylander, Taveras, Rielly, or any other regular on the team. Work hard or you can sit and think about working hard.

No more caudling of any players not willing to work hard every single shift. The crest on the front of the jersey is far more important than the name on the back of it!
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They are working hard though... this is what I don't understand, a bunch of people saying that they should be benched/scratched because of results, not effort.
 
notbias said:
They are working hard though... this is what I don't understand, a bunch of people saying that they should be benched/scratched because of results, not effort.
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They ARE NOT working hard enough. They think their skill reputation should carry them to victory alone. Hard work trumps skill when skill doesn't work hard. Losing to bottom feeder teams is a sign they don't think they need to show up and out-work the opposition.

They need to start working on puck drop to start the game all the way through to the final buzzer. The fact that they turn it on in spurts when they are behind near the end of a game is a sign that they haven't worked hard till the very end.

The bottom players know when the top highly paid players are coasting, so they follow suit. The attitude is ... why should I put in an effort being paid at $900,000 when the $10,000,000+ players are taking a shifts or games off?

JMHO.
 
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Strip the captaincy , roll with 3 roving A's. Split up Marner and Matthews by putting Nylander on the top line and Marner with the Portuguese assassin. Crisis averted.
 
I have no idea how to run a sports team so I wouldn't know. Signing/trading for goalies without a very long injury history would be a start
 
Turns out we just needed the top 3 Dmen to sit out a bunch of games and not have Kallgren in net. What a difference a month can make. Hopefully the narrative doesn't flip back again any time soon, but the lesson here is that anything can happen I guess.
 
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