I think Dupuis is at 13 games now without a goal. Not only is he not being productive, his Novocain Hands have returned. Yet he still remains on the top unit. Never gets demoted. Never misses a regular shift with Crosby.
Which means what most of us fear.... He isn't going anywhere. He honestly can't play any worse than he is now, so it can only get better for him from here on out, because eventually he will hit a streak since Crosby spoon feeds him.
Its crazy that we will look back at Crosby's career and after almost a decade in the league, this org never surrounded him with high end talent on his wings.
My problem with Duper was never his production. That's why I've stopped having these discussions with people about him, and players like him, because they go nowhere. To his credit, he's a tireless worker and he's an excellent skater, and that's why he scores his goals. He was scoring goals while Crosby was out periodically these past few years, so it's not ALL on Sid.
My problem with him was I'd see 20 or 25 goals, and think to myself that if we had a prope 1st line winger playing with Sid, it would be 35 goals, or even 40. I'd also think to myself how many more goals Sid would be getting if he had a competent playmaker with him. And it also goes without saying how much better our transition through the neutral zone would be if we didn't have a guy who constantly flubs passes, and how much more effective our in zone time would be (even when not scoring goals) if we had at least ONE more guy who can look off a defender with a subtle move along the boards and make a nice little 5 foot pass through his feet.
I posted a highlight of a Blake Wheeler flip pass on a 3 on 2 the other night that resulted in a goal. It was a nice, lateral pass right on the blade for a wide open net, where Dupuis would have dished it off to Sid and then went "CENTER DRIVE!!!", as if that's some lost art.
Then I asked myself, and I'll ask all of you: When was the last time Sidney Crosby scored on a pass from Dupuis where we all said "What a great setup by Duper!!!"
Never.
The scariest thing about your bolded statement is the organization may actually think they have, patting themselves on the back for getting "home town discounts".
RS also has been plenty pissed at times before. Blah, blah, blah. You think THIS is the time he'll finally see it, and he doesn't, because some regular season win streak blinds him.
You know, I posted this in another thread. Forget the bench management and tactics and whether he's a player friendly coach or a dictator. What SHOULD Bylsma's job #1 be?
IMO, it's to maximize (or do as much as one reasonably can expect from a coach to maximize) what you get from Sid and Geno?
Ultimately, Therrien was fired because you couldn't say he was doing it with either Sid OR Geno (Sid was 'lost' first, Geno about a month before the trigger was pulled).
Now, it's the reverse. You can't say Bylsma is getting the most out of either of them (couldn't say that about Geno for the longest time).
Bylsma's saving grace is that he's a good guy, not because he's the right coach to maximize the utility of Sid and Geno. That ship has sailed, with an assist to the work Ray Shero has done constructing this team.
The difference this time is that it's happening near the start of a season and by the looks of it, will only continue. I'm also sure he's not liking the fact that Malkin's salary is about to go UP, and he hasn't scored a goal in 10 games. I'm also sure even Shero realizes how embarrassingly bad the bottom 6 is.
Sure would be nice if we could deal a D-man to Anaheim again. So many forwards there that would help us. DSP has looked legit in the last few games i've watched. Obviously KP with his speed and shot. Winnik as well.
Orpik would be my candidate to move to shake the team up and bring back a solid return.
I try to watch all the west coast games because I love me some hockey and try to get my fix wherever I can. I called DSP back in September when people were spitballing trade proposals. That kid's a wrecking ball with some pretty good skill to boot.