What I find funny is the people coming around here now that the team has hit a stride, who were dead-silent when they had the chance to voice their opinion and stick up for Cassidy in the beginning of the season when most of the calls for his firing were being made (by myself included). Fair-weather posting at it's finest.
One 6-0-0-1 streak lifetime as head coach doesn't erase a history of failure. I am cautiously optimistic that the team may have turned a corner, but praise is earned ... And Cassidy ain't there yet.
This team right now is riding on the coattails of solid goaltending for the first time in years. I shudder to think what they'd look like if Hutch had to take the #1 role again. And that's the thing ... A good coach can make something out of nothing and ice a competitive team every night. Sully, Lavvy, and Gordon all did it here ... Cassidy and his predecessor (where he held the assistant coach position) have not. This entire regime, up until this recent 6-0-0-1 streak, has been a failure of epic proportions.
We have a solid team with solid prospects and players right now. There are no more excuses. I hope they continue to shine as they have during this winning streak (there is a loss in there, BTW), and if the time ever comes where it's clear that I was wrong about Cassidy, I'll be the first to admit it.
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On Tardif, I could see him getting the injury call-up, but I don't see him cracking the Bruins roster full-time. He lacks the "thickness" that Chiarelli covets and his particular skill set doesn't translate well to a 3rd/4th line NHL'er, which is where he'd likely fit in. Great player at the AHL level, but he's a Bourque-type who is caught somewhere in the middle, IMO.