Why would Hartley stop using the stretch pass and activating the defence the way he did when it was clearly working quite well last season? Also, saying Hartley continually plays vets over kids that deserve playing time is a myth. Bollig played didn't dress in 30 games this past season, that's over 33% of the year. McGrattan, Setoguchi and Raymond were all been waived over the last 2 seasons to make room for youth in our lineup when they deservedly earned spots.
Again, I'm not saying he's perfect, there were many times this season I was frustrated with him. I can also see how some people dislike the system he plays. However, he has proven that he's a winner, everywhere he goes he finds ways to get the most out of key players. Some players have struggled, but every coach has his favourites. Under Hartley we have seen Gio become a Norris caliber dman, Brodie and Gaudreau have become elite players, and we are seeing the rise of another top player in Monahan who has clearly exceeded his expectations and Bennett looks primed to follow. Considering we made the playoffs last season (and won a round) with the roster we had, I think Hartley has proven that he's a good coach. Again he is far from our biggest problem, I think some of our players took the season far to lightly.