Really good teams in the East the past few years. The fact we lost Schultz early + JR sitting on his hands all year has largely contributed. Sully is not immune to blame, but to me the clear cut winners of the pink slips would be Johnson > Kessel > Pearson >>>>> GMJR >> Sully. I think we're in a better spot approaching the playoffs had we not lost Schultz - however that wouldn't change the fact (or would it?) that our players simply don't care. You can't win a series with no heart. We'll end up repeating last year where only Sid/Guentzel/Hornqvist produce anything and that's simply not good enough to get you beyond the 2nd round.
JR should have never signed Johnson. The off-season deal many of us hoped for was upgrading Maatta & 3C. Once Schultz went down, our D corps looked putrid. It's not Sully's decision to hire players - it's JRs. Sully's deployment of players and system has contributed to some losses - but the player's overall lackluster effort has contributed to far more.
Someone said above that it’s hard to remember a blueliner with a more negative impact than JJ (URM?) and I honestly can’t think of one... trying really hard.
Knowing what I do now (JJ isn’t an offensive blueliner), this team would have been way better off just playing someone like Trotman to bring size and physicality. Tons of people seemed to know as soon as the rumors started about JJ, that it was going to be a horrific signing and they had plenty of great points with numbers to back it all up. Yet JR didn’t see it?
I guess what bothers me is everything I’ve been spitballing the last week or so... JR has been botching almost every move. Feels like he’s throwing shit at the wall in a way, because most of the guys he’s brought in don’t fit a speed/skill/fast transition game.
I still have no idea who their third pivot is going to be right now... instead of that position being solid, it’s a juggling act with a few days left till the deadline.
That whole third line in fact, pretty much blows right now. Bjugstad is about the only skilled player on it and I just heard on NHL radio yesterday after the trade most of the FL coaches and players they talked to thought he was suited as a winger... but he thinks he’s a pivot...
Ok...