TomasHertlsRooster
Don’t say eye test when you mean points
The system leads to odd man rushes and players being out of position, but at the ice level the players are making a lot of mistakes. Braun and Vlasic especially (and Karlsson initially) amongst the defensemen and Labanc, Couture, and the fourth line amongst the forwards. Not to mention the atrocious goaltending.
I agree. I’m quite disappointed with plenty of the roster; Braun, Vlasic, and Couture particularly stand out. Given what they are paid and what is expected of them, I would name Kane as an issue before LaBanc. And yes, the goaltending has been god awful.
However, I think that some of these issues can be explained by poor coaching and the system. And some of the players may end up playing with more confidence and a more consistent effort if they are playing underneath a different coach.
Look, I keep coming back to this: there are a ton of concerns on this team, top to bottom. However, the biggest issue is quite clearly that the team is playing a very flawed system that has been scouted and that does not play to the strengths. The individual players could all be perfect, and the team would probably still look pretty bad. Meanwhile, if you changed coaches and implemented a good system some of the players might start to look a little better.