I’m kind of amazed that we’re two posts in and you still have no idea why they’re struggling. But you’re damn sure it’s Lindy Ruff’s fault.
The issue is fairly obvious. This is the first season they’ve been put in a structured system where there’s accountability. Thats a bit of an oversimplification, but that’s the general basics of it. It’s pretty normal to have players, especially young ones, struggle to adapt when they get this type of change. So I don’t really blame the players for struggling. I do blame the GM for a poorly built a roster. One with too many players needing to make this adjustment at the same time. Unfortunately many of them are our top players.
You claim to remember but I assert you’ve forgotten what went on under Granato. Their development/rebuild approach was to hand spots to a lot of young players and make sure no one blocked their path. They were going to develop confidence by playing an offensive game and telling them not to worry about making mistakes. It’s an environment of minimal accountability and unearned opportunities. I don’t say that as a criticism because I supported that approach. But I knew at some point they’d have to change and it would be a difficult transition.
The struggles we’re seeing this season should’ve happened last year. It started out that way but Granato gave up about six weeks into the season. He switched back to the old approach of the previous seasons. Once that happened, he should’ve been fired and another coach brought in. A new coach should have been brought in to double down and reinforce that the season was about learning the proper way to play and being held accountable when you didn’t. They could’ve ended the season with 50% maybe even 75% of the roster where they needed to be to take the next step. Instead we wasted the rest of that season and reinforced bad habits. So when Ruff took over, he started at 0 just like Granato did the year before.
The Granato numbers are meaningless. There isn’t one full season where he tried to do what Ruff is trying. He started to last year but gave up 6 weeks in. If there was a full season, then you’d actually have something to compare with Ruff this year. I seriously hope you’re not suggesting we go back to how Granato coached during the development years. An approach that will never lead to sustainable success at this level.
Pressure to be something or deal with something for the first time is a real thing. We can certainly debate how much of an impact it’s having. But it’s pretty silly to pretend it’s not a thing.
The core group at the top of the lineup is struggling with their roles/responsibilities. There can be many factors contributing to that, one being the pressure to be what they’re being asked to be. Maybe they’re not capable of it, who knows.
The Ovie parallel doesn’t really work. That was one player being blamed for an entire team’s lack of success.
I don’t know where this is coming from because I’m not blaming the players or the coach. I’m blaming the GM for assembling a poorly constructed roster. But you seem hell bent on making it all about Ruff and grinding that ax really hard.
No disagreement here.
When did I advocate giving up on anyone?
I don’t know if Ruff’s the answer but Boy do you have a hard on for him.
- Knock off the subtle/passive aggressive pot shots and stick to the debate. Phrase like "I'm kind of amazed" and "you claim to". No... I have an opinion, the second you start lecturing instead of discussing is the moment I stop responding.
- I see a lot of generalities and coach speak, so I'll just ask; what is the specific "structure" you're referring to?
Here's my understanding from literature I read and very amateur levels that I've been exposed to: "Structure" is mostly defined when you don't have the puck - i.e. Neutral zone = 1-3-1 or 2-1-2 or 1-2-2, defensive zone = man, zone or hybrid. With the puck, the strategies are more dynamic, but still defined at a high level; controlled breakout vs uncontrolled breakout strategies, in zone cycle strategies, etc.
From my perspective the team wasn't unstructured, it was just that Granato implemented a very simple structure. He rarely adjusted things based on prescouting (I often wonder if we even prescouted), and our structure was easily countered by good teams that could execute. There wasn't much nuance within the structure, and the team would often fall out of structure in the d zone because they were puck watching. Granato never went from "don't worry about defense" to "yes please play defense" to "ok, we're going back to what worked". Another bullshit coach speak narrative. Their offense the first year came from transition offense, the next year their neutral zone strategy never changed, their best players just got hurt.
Structure and accountability are corporate buzzwords and it was obvious that Adams and the organization coached the players on how to handle the end of the season press conferences after Donny got fired. Don't you think it was ironic that they got pissed at the fans for the fire Donny chants, and then a few weeks later were like "Oh yeah we definitely need a tougher coach that makes us more accountable"? It was staged... Guys leave here and instantaneously learn how to adapt to the structure, systems, accountability, and pressure elsewhere, not only that, but as I pointed out most of them flourish.
Regarding the numbers, there is no such thing as "meaningless" numbers. If you disagree that we can't draw any conclusions from them, fine, I'll agree to disagree. But the narrative of what they were trying to accomplish was a bunch of nonsense they were spewing to the media. That locker room was ALWAYS trying to win. I've never played a hockey game in my life where the competitive juices didn't take over and I didn't do everything in my power to win. These kids are no different.
As for your assertion that you're not blaming the players or the coach, by blaming the GM you are indirectly placing blame on the players. While we can both agree that the roster construction isn't ideal, I'm saying these players, here right now, should be better than the results by a lot. That lies on the coaching staff 100%, not the GM.
Lastly, I don't have a "hard on" for Ruff, I love Ruff. He's a beloved figure in the community and now I'm pissed that he's going through this shit show. Knowing the team we had to work with, the odds of a happy ending for him here were slim at best. But he hasn't been considered a "good" coach in the league for a while outside of that outlier season with the Devils. And it seems his warts have gotten worse with age, particularly the end-of-game chaotic scrambles with a lead - that shit has been happening since the Hasek days.
