Can we stop with the Holmgren/Philly comparison? That's a strawman argument. Wanting a GM to make changes when changes need to be made in order to get us back to a level of legit contention doesn't mean people are clamoring for Holmgren. That's silly. Nobody is asking for a blow up of the team, but changes need to be made, and Shero needs to sack up and make real changes. No more of the "man, I hope that's good enough" stuff.
You can want a team to be improved dramatically without insinuating that it needs to be turned into an all-star team. Yes, I think we need another impact, higher tier, big name player in order to round out the top six. Does that mean I want Shero to dismantle the roster and make earth shattering changes? No. Sid needs a RW, regardless of the fact that he's Sidney Crosby and is the best player on Earth. We've seen what teams have learned to do in the playoffs. They get him to stop playing Crosby hockey with cheap shots or physical play, get under his skin and derail his entire game. That, or they will totally shadow Crosby and dare his linemates to beat them. Kunitz is a great player, but he's entirely complimentary. If Sid ain't clickin', Kunitz is a glorified Matt Cooke. Dupuis? He's been over-achieving for years, he's a third liner, plain and simple. A big change needs to be made as far as finally fixing the Sid's winger problem, and it's about more than the "we need wingers" rhetoric. It's not about scoring 15 goals a game and seeing Sid win the Art Ross by 60 points. It's about giving the guy some legitimate help since teams have learned the key to beating us is simply get Sid and Geno off their games, and daring their linemates to beat them once our stars aren't clicking. If that means moving Letang, so be it. Letang's absence isn't going to lose us anything come playoff time. At worst, it's going to leave a smudge on the fanciness and flair of this team's production during the regular season. Not having a legit, top line winger for Sid will continue to crush us.
As well as the RW issue, we need to get bigger and tougher to play against. We're a total joke physically come playoff time, and our bottom six might as well ignore the corners and boards like the plague. We have no Rupps, Ashams, Talbots, Cookes, etc. That's a huge issue for us. We used to effectively punish teams with our forecheck, and wear them down for Sid and Geno to take advantage of. We are physically (pun intended) incapable of doing that anymore, and it's devastating to us. It's been years since we've had a real, playoff bottom six.
Finally, Shero needs to be a business man and get rid of this Familyâ„¢ ********. It's a detriment to the team. It's a really nice sentiment, but that's not how you run a successful NHL team. It hinders your ability to grow, evolve, adjust, and continue to change/improve for the better. Who was it that refused to stay in the team's hotel on road trips because he didn't want to develop a personal bond with the players? Was it Bowman? I'm not saying go to that length, but Shero really has to start running this team in a manner that necessitates winning Cups, and not having ice cream pool parties at Bylsma's after he's extended two more years following his fourth playoff debacle in a row.
