This is the now the second time in a month that Simmonds has said something that made me LOL "No team has lost 5 first round series in a row and won a Stanley Cup"
I like Simmonds because he is direct and asks the tough questions. He's not disrespectful, but this is the major leagues, those on the team must answer to their hungry fans. Many of which I am convinced, will leave until they see a first round win at least.
I've worked on corporate sales teams where marketing has been basically reamed on the calls (a major U.S corporation as it were) and passive-aggression is often part of the talk "Did your team miss your numbers because of the timing of the marketing, or did you miss the mark due to some other unforeseen circumstance?"
There's never, "well we will do better next time". You say "we lost because of ________". Your answer better make sense.
It's all fresh and stunning for them, and Dubas and Keefe have shown the ability to stitch it all together. However, management needs to say "we didn't get it done, again. We will move forward with the players on this team we believe we can get it done with and add externally where needed. No one jobs is safe, this is the business we are in". If you are one of the Big Four, you feel your job is safe. That's not exactly encouraging for ANY sports team.
Last year Dubas was more direct about the players taking ownership. The first place finish has clouded their vision, maybe due to the injury to Tavares and at least jumping out 3-1 in the series, but this is about winning.
My thinking is that each year, if I am the opposing team, I will know exactly how to stop Marners line. No East-West player who refuses to dump it in from time to time is going to beat a passive, trap.
