Does anyone care at this point who is more or less to blame? If we had a player with the actual pride and fortitude to do so, they’d ask out of this shit show instead of frantically fighting to torpedo any trade away from their cushy bromance(s). I won’t be surprised if Panarin ASKS to be traded this summer, and he’ll almost certainly kill his own value by only accepting to one team if we hold him til next TDL (we could get ahead of that…).
Does it matter if “this core shouldn’t get to fire another coach” or “Laviolette isn’t the problem, it’s Drury” or “screw these entitled players” or all, or none of those things? There is absolutely no player, coach or executive on this team that shouldn’t be movable, period. They won’t all be purged, but at this point it really shouldn’t matter if “Kakko is the least of our problems” or “Fox is the only elite talent we have” we should be listening on anyone. Including Igor, even IF that would be viewed as taboo around the league.
And let’s f***ing face it, damaging our reputation among the league MAY be bring us down to ‘just’ moderately more desirable than most franchises instead of the most desirable destinations for free agents. Shit, it might even be a good thing if not every free agent wanted to come here; save us from ourselves.
Also… why IS New York so damn desirable for free agents anyway, if not for a country club culture? One Cup in 85 years and counting. Some of the highest taxes in the country. The city is dirty, congested, full of tourists. The beaches aren’t nearly as nice as Florida or So Cal. The weather isn’t either. Is it really the culture and cuisine? Get f***ing real. My folks are bougie well off NYers who do the ballet and operas and all kinds of ritzy NY shit. They vacation in like New Zealand, Portugal, Italy, Napa, Africa, Sarasota, Italy again in a single calendar year. They’re not even close to athlete rich. These dude’s do not need to live in NYC to have “access” to culture or amenities. So what the f*** makes cold, dirty, congested, perennial losers NYR sooooo god damn desirable to free agents? Must be the tin foil hats they give out at the country club.
There isn’t a f***ing player on this team that should be untouchable. The message, publicly or privately, among NHL GMs should be “make your offers”. The end.
Also I’ve got tickets for Friday. I’ve got Fox and Zib jerseys, as well as Hintz and Oettinger. I’ll probably wear Hintz. The thing is, I barely give a damn whether the Stars win or lose at all until the playoffs, and then only because the more they win the more fun it is and they can’t play us. But I know for sure I’m going to have more fun watching Hintz than Zib or Fox.