cup2006sensrule said:
I think Caanda would be doing better if Crosby, Mike Fisher, Staal, Brind'Amour were on the team as forwards and if Phaneuf was on Defence. Brind'Amour is a no-brainer here, he is Canadian right? He was born in Ottawa. I wonder why no one talked about him, he is having an amazing season. Crosby should totally have been on the team. He brings effort every game and he is as much of a potential gamebreaker as anyone.
That said I think we turn it around and still win the gold.
Brind'Amour and Fisher weren't on our long list at the start of the year. Fisher I would have had on the list, I love his speed and his defensive presence. He and McCauley would have been strong candidates for the checking line. But Draper's been far from the problem. Brind'Amour has always played well for Canada when called upon, but this is the guy who had 37 and 38 points the two years before the lockout. Based on his play from Oct. 2002 to April 2004, he had no business being on the long list.
Crosby and Staal will be fine members of Team Canada for years to come. But do they change the lack of a team concept that exists right now? No. Do they change this team's failure to adjust to the Olympic way of play? No. Until these things change, Canada will lose, and unless you do a complete makeover of the team, the results from the first four games would be the same. Substituting Staal and Spezza or Staal and Crosby (if he was in Italy) would bring the exact same results and the exact same score. They wouldn't change the lack of team play or first period urgency. It seems there are too many people around here who fail to grasp that basic concept.
This type of start has become habitual for Canada at international events, so I'm confident they'll get it together and play to their potential. They have to. If they don't turn around their team play, they will be finished on Thursday.
If you want to see the difference from playing like a team, watch the first three games of the 2002 Olympics. Then watch the gold medal game vs. the U.S. The gold medal game was an absolute clinic. Canada did virtually everything right, and you could count the number of mistakes on one hand. Mike Richter's play was the only reason Canada didn't obliterate the U.S.