I think one issue under PoMo was his "theory of pairs" -- the idea being that key players had an ideal complementary player who was then tied to them irrevocably. 55/ 81 (and 26 at times), 17 and Copper. In that schema, the third wheel on any such line could be anyone, and often was. It meant that the defensively weak KFC was out there in the dying moments of games just because 55 was, and these key pairings were playing huge and disproportionate (to results) minutes because they were seen as central to team success.
As a result, players who could and should have improved their all-round play or see their minutes reduced didn't have to. Lines were often unbalanced, and favoured players were worn out by the end of the season. New and potentially superior combos were rarely tried and quickly abandoned, however promising, and we were forever hearing the "needing someone to play with X" narrative.
Enter Bowness. Everything is new, legacy locker-room deals are out the window, every player commits to 200-foot play and every player earns his minutes.
Did it happen?/ We still saw 2nd-line / PP1 Wheeler, lazy D play from KFC and 55, heavy emphasis on scoring/ checking / energy (admittedly with some pretty ropey personnel) and an odd emphasis on face-off wins that saw Kevin Stenlund lumbering round the ice ineffectively at key moments in games. We also saw that when the top scorers were off their games, there was insufficient scoring from the depth to make up for it. It killed us down the stretch and in the POs.
New season, new depth, and once Villardi returns, the potential for far more balanced lines and greater scoring efficiency. I guess we'll see a perfect-world Bowness do his thing, and then be in a better position to judge his decisions.
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