Listened to Rod on the Maniscalco/Smith podcast last night. Nothing earth shattering, but he mentioned a couple of times that he did not want to have much change to the roster this year for a few reasons. Now, coaches often say that but Rod gave some of his insight why. Some of it is direct quotes, some of it is me reading between the lines.
First, he said he felt the team needed to grow together to improve. He felt they could improve just by growing together and learning "together" how to take a punch to the guy and remember what it feels like next time. Secondly, he mentioned that some players just had bad seasons, but it doesn't mean they are bad players. I felt he was specifically talking about Nino, but maybe McGinn as well. I didn't feel he meant new guys like Gardiner and Dzingel.
Lastly, and something I didn't really consider, he said this season was a big unknown, but he expects it's probably going to be shortened season with games packed in tight together and probably with a shortened training camp. He said the team can't afford to have a bunch of change-over because they need to hit the ground running at the start of the season. There is no time for the team to learn how to gel and play together with a shortened camp/season.
Maybe we'll still see some smaller moves or adds like a Hoffman if it's a bargain, but I don't think guys like Nino will be moving. Who knows though. He also said because of the packed in schedule, both goalies are going to be relied upon heavily.
