This group has just run its course. There may be rifts in the room we don’t know about. Or they just are collectively annoyed at management for things like Goodrow and the Trouba summer. Heck, a few may also be unhappy about how things ended with Hank. Maybe they’re annoyed Shesty wants so much. Maybe they’re annoyed because they think management won’t sign Shesty and they should give him whatever he wants. Who knows? It doesn’t really matter. We can say there’s a decline in talent or argue that they were B level talents to begin with, but it’s abundantly clear that it is also an effort or heart issue.
I have a sneaking suspicion that most players on this team would instantly look better somewhere else - obviously to various degrees - Miller may still be brain dead but he may pick up an edge and play a bit more focused, Zib might not look like he’s on the verge of tears all the time… who knows. I’m not saying they would BE better, but it seems likely they’d at least look like they give a shit again elsewhere.
The group has just run its course. It can’t be a “shakeup”. It has to be significant turnover and it has to be the majority of the vets, or else the issues will just carry over and get passed down.
Honestly, it’s not that different from a breakup where, even if both parties want it to work out, they start to also both know they’d be happier somehow if they go their separate ways. I’m sure all these guys, especially BFFs like Zib/Kreider and Fox/Lindy, probably Goodrow was a glue guy who bonded with a lot of them… they got super close and they probably just want to win one together so bad… but they know they’re not going to, and deep down they just want to move on. They still have chances to win elsewhere. Zib, Kreider, Trouba, could all potentially be on a cup team in a lesser role one day. It won’t be in NY. They look resigned to the inevitable breakup.
