periferal on a roll today.
Any average team can be dissected with several things not working in any given game or stretch of games. That's why they are average teams. There's a lot of parity in hockey and although the gap between best and worst seems narrow, especially when you exclude the top 3-4 and bottom 3-4 teams.
Isles are not a great team. If all goes well, they can maybe make the playoffs.
Each game will have some flaws and some highlights. When we win, we'll focus on the highlights and when we lose it'll look like it's all gone to hell - and it's neither, it's somewhere in the mediocre.
Garth Snow had EIGHT YEARS since bottoming out to build a contending team, with enough top picks to be the envy of almost all other GMs and a franchise player, a centre, who's been a perfect player and leader for this team, never complaining even though he's been a superstar with zero support compared to other superstars in this league.
Take Tavares out and what's left? Take Stamkos off TBay and what was left? Karlsson from Ottawa?
We've gone through waves of "what if" and "if this guy steps in and...." and "if this guy can stay healthy" and "if this coach played these lines" - and yet, here we are. The guy driving the bus is why we're lost right now.
We cannot ask Ho-Sang to play like a 3-4 year veteran, he'll continue to make terrible mistakes and turn the puck over. Beauvillier will be better in 2 years, but not now. Barzal plays like he's in junior, he'll be much better after a year or two - for now, growing pains. Our defense is the definition of average, at best. Superlatives are limited to "he's not bad" or "i didn't notice him, and that's a good thing" - that's what deHaan, Hickey, Pelech, Mayfield and Boychuk are. And in Pulock, let's not pretend he's the next Al MacInnis, it's too bad he isn't better than he is - but he's not.
It's all on Snow. He's accountable for all the decisions leading us to this day.
Sadly, I think it's better for the franchise to fire Snow today, even if it means losing Tavares. I've seen what the Leafs have done with new direction and leadership at the top and yes, they got Matthews, but that team is far more than just him.
Maybe this team will get it all together, they've looked amazing in spurts, awful in others, but I suspect what we see is what we'll get. Ups, downs, disappointment with a sprinkle of hope. And excuses from the top. Maybe a new arena in 3-4 years.
