Yeah, He's taking a little jab at some of the less sensible fans. They kinda deserve one every once in a while. Nothing to get all worked up about. I like seeing that he's more in tune with what is really going on. Other's who don't share this view obviously will not.
And I don't think those fans are waking up to anything. According to most analysts, the team was supposed to be in the basement this year. So in most eyes, this has been a good year. Therefore they're not blaming someone for the things going wrong. Last year analysts picked the Devils to make the playoffs because of an offseason acquisition and the team's advanced stats the previous year. (thanks to Deboer) The year didn't go well, so Deboer gets almost all the blame, and all his previous successes with the team are diminished and the context surrounding the bad results thrown to the way side. Some fans need to blame someone for the bad results, and it'll happen again once the expectations for the team change.
Saying that I don't think Tom's behavior in baiting fans is very professional doesn't mean I'm worked up over anything. It's just my opinion on his conduct. If he wants to continue to behave in an unprofessional fashion, I don't care, since I'm not the one making a fool of myself on Twitter.
Personally, I didn't think the team was a playoff caliber one this year or last season. Hynes seems to be a better fit with our current roster than DeBoer, though, so I'm happy with the hire. DeBoer wasn't working last season, so after a certain point a change had to be made. Whether or not he was the problem, he wasn't showing that he could be part of the solution. I wish him the best in San Jose, but it was time for the Devils to move on from him. Under Hynes, we're having more success than we did last year, but if Hynes doesn't work out a few seasons from now, another coaching change can be made. Coaches are hired to be fired, and it's really about who the GM, not the fans, blame. Pete was fired by a GM, not fans, and people don't get fired for doing a good job.
All this is really irrelevant to Tom's snide remarks, though. If he has a point he absolutely must make (although I prefer journalism without editorializing, even though it's a dying thing), he should be respectful when he makes it. Being rude to people doesn't make anything he says smarter, and probably makes anyone who disagrees with his point less likely to heed it.
