Some of you are overreacting a little on this whole "pro experience" ideology. There are plenty of coaches around the pro ranks who never had any themselves yet understand the game better then players with 10+ years experience.
How many times have we seen past NHL players get canned cause they can't coach?
Goaltending these days is as much athleticism as it is a science. For those that have played (or play) the position it's about studying, fundamentals and a lot of repetition.
Time will tell how Schwartz does but he's had pretty decent success at the Junior level. I don't buy into this nonsense of pro-experience...more so actual years experience. If Schwartz has been working with goalies of today (Hybrid/blocking/whatever) then give him a shot.
Goaltending hasn't been great but it's just the tip of the iceberg to our glaring holes playing defensive hockey and more importantly showing some heart. To me that falls on our Head Coach and it's staff.
Anybody that knows the first thing about coaching understands that the messenger is just as important as the message.
Regardless of credentials, people might be more willing to give somebody "a shot" before judging if they believed there was a professional approach to finding and hiring the best available candidate.
Now, I'm not a 'fire Lowe' guy because I think he doesn't know anything about hockey. I happen to think he's a good hockey mind. I'm also not a 'fire Lowe' guy because he has been around for years. I happen to think his loyalty and devotion to this city and this organization exceeds any of the other 'star' type players from the dynasty years and that is something to appreciate and applaud. I'm also not a 'fire Lowe' guy because I think he's secretly pulling strings and is essentially the GM in the shadows. I think both Tambo and MacT have been given the power to make the moves they want to make (hell, Lowe would never have sat on his hands like Tambo did).
However, for the first time, I'm starting to think I might be a 'fire Lowe' kind of guy because I'm worried that this run has created something of a siege mentality where criticism/outside thinking is viewed as a threat. I might be a 'fire Lowe' kind of guy because standard professional procedures aren't followed when it comes to hiring practices with this organization. Now, I think MacT is and will be a good GM. I think he made a stupid decision with Eakins but I think he's otherwise in an untenable position from a personnel position where he's really got sweet FA to work with to make changes without blowing up the core. But the way he was hired (nobody else interviewed) and that this practise seems to have continued, concerns me greatly.
