Expecting a player to forecheck isn't asking a whole lot. He isn't accomplishing much without the puck and even less with it.Putting him in the press box was a terrible idea IMO. Now the team is spinning its wheels in the mud on its first road trip and many players are struggling to tread water.
A lot of you are completely exaggerating about his defensive acumen, he hasn't been remotely as bad as some people think. He's not helping the solution right now but he's not nearly as big of a problem either. The whole team, aside from maybe Gordon and one or two others, sucks defensively and has poor hockey sense. This is a major problem, the collective.
I don't think they're as bad as their record indicates but something's gotta give. They're going to have to trade one of the "big" 4. They're probably not going to get as much as they want/need either.