MBH
Players Play
I share the same feelings as Veleno, when you look at each player in hindsight individually there are so many great points people make about why they didn't cut it. But when you put the whole timeline together is what Veleno is talking about. The situations all feed off each other. If we go in a time capsule and wings go full-on Jurco Marchenko Murask and crew, current reality shows very likely it would have been a dumpster fire. But that disaster would have led to the ultimate need of rebuilding so much sooner than it did and we won't still be on the books for players like Weiss, Abby, Helm, and had to witness other disasters like Richards, Legwand, Cleary etc... The wings kept the foot on the gas long after the engine already exploded.
I always felt that Blash was pretty much a Babcock clone so when he took over I expected more of the same lines and 'tie goes to the vet' especially being under Holland. So I held no illusions that Blash was going to be a catalyst for organizational change. I think that is where Veleno and I differ. However, the overall impact of not facing reality for so many years has ripple effects that don't get acknowledged when you talk about this player or that. And in that respect, I totally agree
Playing the youngsters at this point has happened organically as a result of finally letting the older players fall off the roster and not having playoff's or else over Yzerman's head. So I think the type of impact a coach could have had back then is no longer a window of opportunity. And in that respect, I don't really care if Blash stays or goes in regards to this season.
Yeah, there's no guarantee Jurco would have been the player he promised to be.
Or Pulkkinen.
Even if I firmly believe both guys could have been 15-25 goal guys, I have to allow for the likelihood that both guys bust out the same way they did.
But in the end, if they do? Who cares?
If they don't, then we've got a couple decent players in our top nine.
Right now, Abdelkader, if he's still here, would be on a Glendening contract. Helm would be here on a Glendening contract.
I don't necessarily think we'd be much different in the standings.
But maybe we would be a bit better today if Jurco was a legit top 9 forward and Pulkkinen was a third line forward and PP player.
I don't know about you guys, but I loved the hell out of that Tatar, Pulkkinen Larkin line.
I liked the Jurco-Sheahan-Tatar line.
Those kids showed promise.
They were never going to replace Datsyuk and Zetterberg. But they could have been good guys around the outside of a new core.