I don’t want to fire Sullivan for the sake of doing that, because, right now there are other coaching changes and other roster moves that should be made first. And because the best options have dwindled fast.
But the reality is if these players have grown spoiled and comfortable, and aren’t onside with the coach anymore, then he may need to go whether or not he deserves it.
We know the well worn history with this club and firing coaches. Well at the current crossroads, Even if a new GM started pressing the right buttons and made some significant moves, I’m not really sure that’s enough on its own to get the players interested again. The window for the stars is very close to closed, and they should have a “now or never” mentality about the next couple of seasons. They already blew 5 of their best years by letting Bylsma do whatever the hell he wanted. That memory, of wasted potential when it was clearly going downhill has got to be fresh
Like everyone has said, give Sullivan the start of the season. Ownership and Rutherford kept Johnston on a tight leash in 2015 and it was the right call. At this point Sullivan has a year of mediocrity and a first round capitulation to his name too. I know how heartless it sounds, but once you adopt a “how many cups have you won for me lately” attitude about the last 12 months, things look eerily similar.
It wouldn’t have been fair at all to Sully, but Iwish they had sounded out Quenville before he was hired. Clearly Tallon knew teams would come for Q and tried to lock him down as soon as possible