This a post for opinions so.
On Torts season here - Worst schedule in Canuck history - Injuries to the entire core, only one player played the season even the Sedins missed games - visiting teams submit the starting line up first so Calgary started their goon line, Torts had to respond - Torts going after Hartley for starting that line up and the news that Alberts career had been finished by one of those starters - Torts year 37 different players played due to injuries - Torts was the first to declare "The core needs to be rebuilt", "The core is stale", he also stated "The Sedins are the toughest players he has seen, being from back east he wasn't aware how tough" - His team missed the playoffs by one point - He went on to win the Coach of the Year his next job training a bunch of very young players. The media hate him because he replaced their "source". Mr Ego leaked all kinds of information.
Elias Pettersson, C, His game looks similar to what was happening after a couple of "upper body" injuries. After seeing how concussions had affected Daniel, Naslund and La Fontaine and others, high skilled players are not quite the same, they are off their game a little bit in every area. EP has been shaking his head after getting hit or bumped, clearing the "cob webs"? Why shake his head? I am pretty sure most people can see he is not right.
concussion in 2018, 2021 missed 30 games "upper body" - 2022 - "Upper body" being young he could recover quicker BUT some of his stats show a decline and then resurgence. But he also stopped shaking his head.
Kuzmenko's benching, maybe a message to Pettersson, Tocchet cannot bench Pettersson and that line has been bad in their own end. Kuzmenko's check in the defensive zone would be the dman on his side, how many points have defencemen got from that side.
Thats why i believe if Torts is coaching us in 2011, we would have won the cup, the sedins are still in their prime and in theory able to handle the extra work load.
AV was played by opposing coaches he would set his lineup by what the other coach's were saying to the media.
He stopped coaching in the finals, he missed using Boston College hero, Schneider the other half of the Jennings trophy to help influence a few fans, he asked Luongo if he wanted to play. That was after Luongo was blown up. What did he think Luo would say? No? Saying no is being benched, he should have made the decision. Luongo stated how hard and how much of a grind the playoffs were. Ya, Torts would have done different but it is the past now and only worthy of discussion.
