Well .. here it is (as I type this) early evening of the 11th of February 2009 .. and the elephant is still in the livingroom. {{Sigh}}.
This team will not 'turn it around' until the coaching staff is replaced. This is theTOP priority .. and it is not being addressed by the ownership/management.
Until this issue is addressed and dealt with, this team will not come anywhere near going "deep into the playoffs". Trades at the deadline are not going to do a damn thing to change the toxic atmosphere that has developed around this team because of Therrien and Yeo.
The players long ago got sick and tired of Therrien and Yeo. This has been confirmed by the media reports of Bob McKenzie. The players have tried to "ignore" this, but they are only human and so it wears them down over the long haul. It doesn't go away. It doesn't get easier to ignore. It only gets to be more and more of a drag. It can't help but affect all levels of performance. Like I said .. it's a toxic atmosphere. This MUST be dealt with before any 'turnaround' is going to happen.
Shero/Mario are being irresponsible by not addressing this main priority. They have deliberately put out PR garbage .. lies, essentially, to the effect that "there's not a coaching problem". This is a lie. And it's really disgusting to see this elephant in the livingroom being ignored for so long, with no end in sight to this charade. Shero/Mario are only trying to save face and avoid the embarassment of admitting they made a mistake in giving Therrien the extension, and so they are not doing what needs to be done in the best interests of the core players and the fans. This is a huge disappointment, and it's only becoming more toxic and more despicable as time goes on.
And now, there's the likelihood that long-term assets will be sacrificed to make some "quick-fix" move at the trade deadline, which, as I already stated, will not do a damn thing to fix what's wrong, because the elephant will still be in the livingroom.
Therrien is an AHL coach. He can work with a new incoming class of guys from Juniors and College every season .. doing his "tough babysitter" schtick. It works at the AHL level because there's a new class of kids coming in every year for their first year as a pro. But it sure as hell wears thin and gets old very fast in the NHL, especially when the coach can't even make simple in-game adjustments, has zero common sense, is incredibly stubborn, and has a ridiculous compulsion to constantly juggle linemate combinations.
This charade is turning me off to this organization. A very bitter pill to swallow after all the hype.