I think I wrote it somewhere, don't know if it was this forum or a main one, but I imagine the issue with Joey and Duchene... and even if you go back to Granlund/Ekholm/Jarnkrok/Arvy/etc... is that when there are that many guys who have been together awhile in the same room, on long-term contracts, feeling comfortable... who is really pushing things?
I think it's like that at my office too. Some of us old "comfortable" guys, are kind of just leaning on our experience, while we also juggle kids, other stuff at home, and we aren't necessarily going as hard-core at the job as we could. We're still getting enough done, not just goofing off all the time or anything, but it doesn't really drive new innovation or breakthroughs if too many core guys are doing that at once. And it's a subtle thing. We'll all say, hey man, I'm meeting my deadlines, putting in my hours, getting my stuff done, earning my salary. Just like the players. But is that enough?
You have to have some "critical mass" of guys going harder in order to reach new levels. Now we've culled the herd so that the "critical mass" is no longer all in that "comfortable" life stage. There are more hungry kids, some new voices who are guys that go harder even with more experience, the tide has shifted. Or at least, we'll hope it has.
It doesn't mean the "comfortable" guys were bad people in any way. Or even truly slackers. Just within the sum of the parts the balance needed to change in order to make a more competitive whole.