I think it's valid until the roster is better, assuming management and the coach are on the same page with the team they want to build. But if they aren't on the same page, I think we start seeing talk of guys not being used right, guys not being groomed correctly, etc. I haven't always been a fan of Blashill's system. There are stretches where I think the Wings have looked like a disorganized mess, and I'd be good with firing him because of that.
At the same time, I think he's done well with the majority of kids that have came up the past few years in getting them to grow their games and getting a lot out of them. Athanasiou is probably the only guy I can look at and see it just not working with.
With a blatantly lousy team, I want a reason for firing any coach to be something beyond, "well, we're lousy."
100% agree with this. My personal expectation of any coach is to get the most out of the players he is given. Its not an excuse to say that Blashill has a bad roster, its reality. What I care about is the development of young players. If he has a bad roster for 10 years, I don't hold him accountable for all 10 years as long as he gets the most out of what he has. Just like if I have a coach with a great roster for one year, and the team sucks, I fire him after one year.
Right. So, theoretically, you'd be good with Blashill losing as long as he has a bad team. 4 years. 8 years. 10 years, whatever.
I fire him because
1) He loses.
2) His rules for accountability undermine the concept of accountability.
3) His NHL work with young players is spotty at best, and we need to develop young players.
4) At some point, you have to change voices, win or lose. And even more frequently when you lose.
Numbers 1 - Doesnt matter to me, what I said above explains why.
Number 2 - Hard to say. I think sometimes as fans we make assumptions about things like this, when in reality we have no clue because we are not in the locker room, we don't talk to the players. I'm not going to say you are wrong, but I'm not going to say you are right. But I can't measure accountability as simply minutes played Serious question, have you ever read/heard anything about any present or former players accusing Blashill of this?
Number 3 - Sorry, but I completely disagree. I'm extremely happy with the development of Larkin, Mantha, Hronek, Bertuzzi, and AA. Blashill understands that these kids are the future, and he does put more pressure on them then the vets because I believe he knows that them doing things the right way is crucial. I know from your previous posts that you think these kids are good despite Blashill, so I guess agree to disagree.
Number 4 - For the most part this is correct. There are outliers of course (ie. Bill Belichick/NE) but no argument here.
With all this said, if a coach becomes available that Yzerman sees as the coach of the future, and not just as a stop gap, I have no problem letting go of Blashill.