Our top-6, on paper, should be able to compete with anyone in the league. In reality? Sid and Geno look well into their decline. Jake and Rust are playing abysmal hockey on both sides of the puck. E-Rod's AHL fodder being asked to fill in temporarily for a guy we don't even know will work as a top-6 player even though we paid for one. Letang's been awful. Dumo's been awful. Marino's been up and down. Petts has probably been the most steady of the blueliners, and that's a problem because he's a bottom pairing guy. Ceci's dogshit on a Jack Johnson level. Matheson's a mess, and while he's shown little flashes of potential, they're few and far between amidst an ocean of f***ups. Jarry's game collapsed after the first 20 minutes of the season, and our backup plan is some AHL nothingmancer.
I mean, yeah, there are some nice names to look at on a depth chart, but they're sprinkled around a roster full of issues, and the product on the ice is a shitshow. That's on coaching as well as the players themselves. Sid and Geno didn't suddenly become average at best overnight. Jake and Rust are not nearly as bad as the performances they've shown in the past 10 games or so. Letang certainly has the ability to continue to make a positive impact. Jarry's not as bad as the miserable showing he's had thus far.
But at what point do you say "Yeah, this thing's f***ed. We gotta do something drastic to either kickstart a mini-rebuild or go all out sell mode." I can't imagine this FO or coach will be in charge by the start of next season, whenever that may be. I'd be surprised if Sully made it through Valentine's Day at this rate. This isn't a "it's been two games" thing. This is a "this team's been circling the drain since the Caps series, ultimately ending the regular season last year limping into the playoffs and getting trounced by the Habs, and have started this season right where they left off" thing.
