I think they are lopsided enough to warrant a wider poll. I wasn't suggesting he pass on the results. If this poll happened on a wider sample of fans thru TSN 1200 as an example; Do you think the results would be a lot closer? What percentage of people do you think would agree with Dorion's assessment of where the team is at regarding competing for a playoff spot next year , and competing in the playoffs the following year.
I personally have lost faith in Dorion's ability to properly assess where the team is at. That is a direct cause of where we are now.
Looking back i somewhat think the trigger on the Duchene acquisition was wanting to do something for Karlsson and not wanting to extend Turris. That clearly did not pan out and in fact it collapsed really quickly. We were done 20 games after the Duchene acquisition when he didn't come in "hot"
Once that collapse happened reading the tea leaves on needing to rebuild in February of 18 was to me the correct read and i suspect in part driven by the belief Karlsson would not sign.
There's lots here that says we are 5 plus years from conpeting. I don't buy that and recent NHL data does not support that. Look at any recent data on the age of forwards in their primes. We are going to have a whack of guys entering their statistical primes by the 2020 season. Are guys like Brown and Batherson going to be legit top 6 players in the NHL? You seem to live close enough that you get to see Belleville games. What do you believe? If you believe that talent like Batherson, Abramov, Brown, Balcers, Chaplik are going to be quality NHL players, post 05 lockout data says their best statistical years will be 2020 - 25. Those guys are complimenting by guys like White and Tkachuk that will also be in or entering their primes.
Then you have the D with Chabot who is / will be a superstar. Wolanin who you personally believe is a top 4. Brannstrom who is clearly going to be a quality PMD.
I don't have any issue at all with PD saying competing, in, competing while in because that aligns 100% with what the data says about peak performance of NHL players post lockout.
The question for me is more related to the quality of the talent we have. If he is correct that the players i mentioned, and i didn't mention guys like Formenton, Veronneau and Norris, are / will be NHL players, then his statements on contending align.
I guess the question comes down to me more about the talent assessment. Is it accurate? Assessing talent is PD's strength and the various talking heads seem to be supporting the view that we have a wideand deep pool.
As for polls, ask any biased crowd a question and you'll get a biased result.