Cappy would be benching Barzal is ridiculous speculation on your part
JT aside who praised Cappy often, I wouldn’t say Cappy ruined these players (all draft picks since Cappy was named head coach of Bridgeport in 2007 and interim and the head coach in 2010. You said he ruined everyone but JT....
Josh Bailey
Kyle Okposo
Anders Lee
Travis Hamonic
Casey Cizekas
Calvin de Haan
Brock Nelson
So who did he ruin exactly and how?
I'll answer each one.
Josh Bailey - everyone knows how I feel about him. He sucked SUCKED SUCKED SUCKED SUCKED until last year. SUCKED. I'm thrilled with the way he's playing now, but don't act like he played well under Capuano. Bailey seems to go into every game with a gameplan. Before that, he relied on his instincts, which were getting worse and worse every year. Weight has certainly helped Bailey become a good player, mainly because I think Bailey plays a similar style to what Weight was when he was playing.
Kyle Okposo - he had some serious ups and downs. I think other than 2013-14, when he was on that monster line with Tavares and Vanek, he played his best hockey his rookie year when Scott Gordon was our coach. I was not a Gordon fan, although I thought he was unjustly fired, Kyle plays much better when he's in a regimented system, which Gordon had. Capuano had a "chickens running around without heads" system, which doesn't work for Kyle. It's a huge reason why he's not doing well in Buffalo.
Anders Lee - Although he did score 25 goals his first full year, he looked awful in 2015-16, and the first few weeks of last season he was absolutely invisible. Although he was already picking it up a little, once Capuano got fired, he went off. Same with Ladd, although I think Ladd was playing seriously hurt.
Travis Hamonic - Hamonic I'll give you. He got worse because his style isn't sustainable. It had very little to do with coaching.
Casey Cizikas - Casey has never really been more than a 3C, but that's because that's always what his game was supposed to be. That doesn't necessarily take coaching, he always had the style to play where he is now.
Calvin deHaan - Do you remember how awesome deHaan was his rookie year? His offense has stagnated. I expected him to be more of a 7-12g, 30-35a kind of player. He's essentially a 3g, 15a, although a very steady one. I think he had a lot more potential than what he's become, and I don't think Capuano did him any favors. I'm sure part of it is on deHaan too, though.
Brock Nelson - He's actually done worse under Weight, so I'll give you that one too. Not sure what's going on with him.
What I should have said, to be fair, was that Capuano ruins players after their rookie year (i.e. Strome), or after they have a career year (i.e. Brock). I'm definitely in the mindset of the team winning in spite of Capuano, not because of anything he did. Weight has clearly brought a new, smart, fun, exciting mindset to this team. There have been a ton of interviews with multiple players saying there is a different feeling in the locker room. Barzal has said he's gotten a ton more feedback than from Weight than he did from Capuano, and don't forget Barzal was up for a long time even if he only played two games last season.
And how many leads did we used to give up under Capuano? A gajillion? This team now is so much more mentally tough.