Leafsfan74
Registered User
- Jul 2, 2018
- 4,781
- 4,914
I understand Freddie has struggled for a while and we all love Jack. But can we stop with the idea Freddie is some pariah parasite coming to ruin everything. He needs to see NHL action again before the playoffs. I feel a hell of a lot more comfortable with Campbell/Freddie then I do with Campbell/Rittich/Hutch.
Keefe isn't an idiot and I trust his opinion way more then the HF think tank. He will make the right call who will start.
Also, Freddie has been there all season, him and Matthews are very close he is in no way a disruption to the room, anyone with that notion please snap back to reality.
Fans don't care if Joe doesn't see a minute of playoff time. Fans don't care if Matthews doesn't score a single goal. All fans care about is a Stanley Cup. This should never be about any single player. Even McDavid himself has tried to downplay his 100 points, he's being clear it's about wining for him. He wants a Cup, so do 15 other teams.
Suppose you are a sales manager and one of your long time employees, Sammy, gets sick and is off for a couple of months. Upon his return his replacement is told "Bill your numbers have been through the roof since replacing Sammy, so we are going to keep you on the sales floor. Don't worry, if you hit a wall, Sammy will be right there looking down from upstairs and he will come in and bail you out". Is that going to impact the sales rep or not?
Pariah isn't the right word. You use what has worked for you and avoid distractions, especially so close to the playoff. There must be no doubt in Campbells mind. He must not only be The Man, but, have his backup feel the same.
Now, if Freddie gets his one game and is told he is #3 and will be needed in case of an injury. That's fine. He's a few degrees removed from the ice while still remaining an encouraging part of the team.
I think it makes no sense to make him back up at this point. You risk ruining the flow of your red hot goalie, and then you will have two subpar netminders and a quick exit.
You aren't going to get this straight a line to the Final Four again. It still isn't going to be easy.
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