Let's get some perspective on this. It is pretty simple. How many lost games in a row in series at 3-2 or 3-3? You guys know this stuff. 6, 8? And 10 lost playoffs in a row? Second highest in sport?
There is no point in blaming refs, curses, bad luck, coaches, even the Big 4. The data speak loudly over time. The hypothesis that you can win with a team with this much salary inequality has been tested, and the null hypothesis holds: you can't. Dubas has had his time. He had a "new" theory about what works, he had his time to prove his theory.
I read some incredibly stupid and pathetic journalists online about not blowing this up. How can these people dare to apologize, to blind themselves, so easily? The bottom line is that change, serious change is necessary. You need to break with this past however you can, and it IS psychological.
It starts with Dubas. He has to go. Just trying something different at this point will help. Then the coach. He is not an NHL coach. Has anyone wondered why all of these people had to have some association with the SOO Greyhounds to be legitimate? Are there other OHL teams with promising people running them? Watching Keefe in that documentary last year made it obvious to me that the players don't believe in this guy -- he has no authority, no impact.
Then there are trades. You CANNOT have a team with this kind of salary imbalance, because it means somewhere down the lineup you are suffering. The third line is weak -- period. The defense is almost good enough. The goalie is almost good enough. The bottom six are not close to almost good enough. I lived near New York during the Islanders era -- go look at the balanced scoring in that team. Both third line wingers scored 20 to 30 goals every year. Trade Tavares if possible, Nylander, whoever.
I will NOT watch this team another year if it is same-old, same-old.
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