Speaking Moistly
What a terrible image.
I'm not disagreeing with you, I'm tired of Scuderi too. But perhaps MJ perhaps felt the young core needed to watch from the bench in that situation-They are learning on the ice and from the bench. Some of them like Pouliot and Dumo are not physically or mentally ready for an 82 game NHL season. Even Bortz, this is really his first year playing up.
I'm not trying to make excuses but it's easy for us to sit here and criticize w/o knowing the facts or what he's doing to help develop these guys the best way possible.
The young guys won't learn anything from watching Scuderi in any offensive situation unless it's what not to do. They're not going to learn anything from watching Scuderi be too slow for 4 on 4 hockey either and that was happening when Ehrhoff and Martin were still in the land of the living so there's better veterans to learn from there; except the youth wasn't really there.
We don't know all of the facts though, however the usage is pretty telling. Playing him is one thing, putting him out in these situations is another and the reasoning is probably faulty. Coaches make bad decisions or they develop a weird relationship with a player, it happens. It's just something that has to be within reason or stopped. If Johnston is going around thinking using Scuderi in the previously mentioned situations is a good idea then it's time for JR to do something. Unless this is coming from above Johnston and if that's happening then I give up.
Somebody wake Rutherford up from his nap. Somebody should go check on him in his office. He's been sleeping since he got hired in June.
JR isn't napping, he got plastic surgery so the old man jokes would stop. He's recovering slowly because that's what the elderly do.