It isn’t that you make off base remarks. It is the volume of them and you do not provide any balance.
I criticize DC but I also point out the positives. I highlight both sides.
For example, DC is a good systems coach. I don’t think anyone can argue that. He has his teams well prepared for games. Sure, maybe there is the odd stinker but it happens in Junior hockey. His ability to prepare his team and install a system that wins hockey games is very very good. The challenge with that is his teams start out better than others and it creates a false sense of optimism. Other teams start slower and build momentum. Not these DC 67’s teams. We saw it this weekend with OS. OS is a team we should beat handily if they are the team some on here suggest they are but we barely squeezed by with a win. Why? It is because even the weaker teams are starting to catch their stride. But, at the end of the day, his players play hockey the right way. That speaks volumes as to how good he is.
Where DC is weak? He has a tendency to overplay his veteran players. Maybe this affects the progress of younger players but the younger players that play the game right and ut forth the effort seem to get more ice than the others. Case in point, Horner, Houben and Korbler. None of these players provide the stability and results that justify their ice time but they play DC’s way and put forth significant effort every shift. So, they play. Other younger players that don’t put forth the same effort end up playing less, even if they are future elite players.
We’ve had a handful of players all not want to be in Ottawa. It points to the coach. It is what it is. It shows that he may not be the best at communicating with the players. So, from my perspective, do we want a 67 year old coach that seems to be lacking the ability to connect with players to restart this next rebuild? THAT is the question we need to ask. IMO, we shouldn’t want that regardless of how good DC is at preparing his teams.
Kilrea just turned 90. He was fine thorugh around 70-71. After that? His teams started to be a lot more inconsistent. His moves as a GM were highly questionable. I think when coaches start getting close to 70, you really need to separate their past fromt heir present and really take a strong and hard look at whether you wan tthe coach for another cycle. We ar win a position heading into next season where we will be in year one of the next cycle. It could end up being a 4 year cycle. So, the choice to keep DC isn’t about next year, it is about the next four years. Should he be here for another full cycle. That’s the question.