Burgs
Registered User
- Sep 10, 2005
- 6,761
- 7
You're interpreting way too much into what I said. It was mostly sarcasm stemming from my impression that a vocal part of the posters here seems downright traumatized by Adams and the general lack of toughness to the point that they'd cheer signing just about any goon simply because "at least he's better than Adams". Well, duh. I don't remember anyone on here complaining faster and louder than I did when he signed his 2 year deal last summer. I wanted him gone then, and I want him gone even more now. But what does he really matter in the gameplan? He's an old 4th liner and his biggest fan got fired. He can easily be replaced from within.
I completely agree that our bottom six needed much work. And I think it already was clearly better before this tryout. I even get why people would welcome Carcillo. Yes, we need to get tougher and more proactive in defending our own, and we need to draw at least a little of the opposition's aggression away from Sid and Geno. I just vehemently disagree about the who and how.
IMO Carcillo is way too much of an idiot to be trusted with doing this job. I hate that guy (no surprise there, I guess) and not just because of his stupid molester stache. He's not the type of guy who ends the abuse. He's someone who starts stupid crap because he likes to, consequences be damned. His antics can motivate the opponent just as well. What happened again after he fought Talbot in the 2009 playoffs? It cost the Flyers the game, we won the series and later the Cup. His 'trolling' can easily spin out of control and end up hurting us, in penalties and retaliatory fouls. We're not the only team to figure out that you'd have to send your goons not after their goons but after their core players. And why would our coaching staff be the first ones to reign him in? Nobody else in the league has been able to but rookie coach Johnston and his crew will? They have their hands full with implementing their new system. And already have Downie to manage, too.
I want us to play tough and smart from whistle to whistle, and walk away from the sideshow crap. I want Sid to return to being the Sid who had 3 teeth knocked out by Hatcher's high stick, returned to the game and scored two goals including the OT game-winner. There was a time when he thrived off being targeted. I want someone to sit Geno down and train him not to fly off the handle every other time he gets slashed. Some years ago we owned Philly and their 'trolling' to the point of sweeping the season series. Because the team was tough mentally as well. This kind of abuse will never stop if the other side feels we have no mental fortitude. And Carcillo has none either, only he flips out and attacks instead of wilting away. Neither are solutions.
Some of that mindset will hopefully be fixed by the new coaching staff who will take the chains off our tougher players and get our stars to focus again. The rest needs to be installed by players you can trust not to **** things up at the worst possible moment. Like I've said before, I want my agitators to be in control, and to instigate in a tactically smart way. That doesn't preclude them from playing tough and intense. Roberts was often pretty dirty, Armstrong liked to headshot vulnerable players, Ruutu was great at causing trouble, Godard would not waste time with niceties when brutality was needed, Rupp and Asham knew their jobs and did them well. But none was a ticking timebomb on the ice like Carcillo (except Cooke who was a much better overall player). Rebuilding a roster to that level of toughness can't be done in one off-season, I understand that, but IMO Carcillo won't help either now nor down the line.
Basically IMO it comes down to this: the people who want Carcillo want him for the same reasons several contenders acquired him in the past. And those who don't want him do so for the same reasons all these contenders discarded him shortly afterwards, and he's now going to be on his 5th team in 5 years. It doesn't make anyone losers or hypocrites (words I never used). Time will tell who's right. I think he's a net negative. I hope I'm wrong but I do not trust this player at all.
Yes we are reaching but it's a big need and those are the only cheap options who might possibly be able to fill it. I doubt they can but I'd spend a tryout on them to find out. Malone is only two years removed from scoring 20 in 68. Why, in the opinion of many, can Downie get healthy and smarten up but the same would be impossible with Malone? And yes Penner is a lazy slug (even his name means 'bum' in German) but he's got a huge body to protect the puck and screen the goalie, and he's always done best with a great center which he'd have here. Both players have big drawbacks but they just might provide a missing element I think is important.
And it's where he should be, too. I was asked to name players in the organization who can provide toughness. PL3 would likely be the best fighter on the team if called up, so he is at least an option if we expected another Islanders type massacre. And unlike MacIntyre he wouldn't look completely out of his depth playing regular 4th line mins for a game or two.
