I've never had a bad word to say about the guy before this season, and I've been defending him most of this season, under the impression he was hurt. I still think his back is f***ed, but if that was the case he had NO business playing in the 4 Nations. That was an extremely selfish move & showed really bad optics. Since then he's shown spurts of trying harder & skating faster in spurts, which is maddening & makes one question the validity of his injury claims.
Besides his back, I'm not sure what's up with the guy, but it's clearly affecting him personally & it's seeped into his attitude & effort on the ice. It's one thing to call him you're favorite player & that's totally your prerogative, but when it affects your ability to see things or post objectively, you should expect to get called out for it & the pushback you're encountering.