Quoting: pensfan21
"If you disagree you are wrong". That's just not true. I think this team is far off from being a contender, but there are also valid arguments on both sides. No one is 100% right or wrong and a case can be made for both.
Now whether we can fix it in the offseason is another story. You did some good stuff here. I like the Varlamov signing and I'm all for getting a defensive defenseman, but this D overall is pretty slow and immobile. Same with Bjugstad. This roster just doesn't fit Sully's system at all. I think Sully, Hextall, Burke should all be fired anyways, but I still think we would need more speed than this unless we trapped, which our coaching staff would never do. We've also seen Petry and Rutta just aren't very good this year. The bottom 6 I dont think would get it done either. Poehling is a good 4C but not 3C. Carter even though you minimized his role, which is good, still is gonna hurt us. Blueger was very ineffective this year. Rodrigues I like a lot and O'Connor is good, but I just dont think this bottom 6 is good enough.
Not trying to hate on this. I think you did some good stuff. But I just disagree with the idea that anyone who thinks the team is far away is simply wrong. This team has had 4 consecutive first round exits and refrained from ever retooling the roster. The core will all be a year older and it's not guaranteed they play at this high level again next year. There's so many different factors and Hextall made a complete mess of this team. Sully is also coaching a speed and constant attacking game with a roster that isn't fast. I have my opinions, but with how this year is I dont think we can count out anyone or a different view as non-negotiably wrong. If we want to contend again I think we need a massive retool, which I dont think is worth it.
"This D overall is pretty slow and immobile Same with Bjugstad."-This is true, not going to argue otherwise, but they're still effective in their own end. That's the most important deciding factor here, and comparing Gudas and Zadorov to someone like Dumoulin and/or Ruhwedel it may even be a slight upgrade in terms of skating ability. For a 4th line role, you're not looking for a perfect fit, but someone that can give you a good 10-13 minutes a night, and Bjugstad can do that.
"I think Sully, Hextall, and Burke should all be fired anyways"-I want the latter 2 gone too (Sullivan should still have *some* leash), but they've only been here a little over 2 years, let's be honest, if they're getting fired, it'll be the 2024 offseason, not right now.
"Poehling is a good 4C but not 3C"-I don't entirely disagree, but he's shown he can hold his own as a 3C. Him and O'Connor are a very nice duo and if you give them someone who has a good two-way game like Rodrigues, that line could really do wonders as a checking/energy line that gives you a good offensive game every now and then.
"Carter even though you minimized his role, which is good, still is gonna hurt us. Blueger was very ineffective this year"-Carter ain't going anywhere. Either he retires or is on the roster. That's just the unfortunate reality. Blueger's struggles this year were overexaggerated. Yea sure he didn't provide anything offensively, but that's his style of play. He's a defense-first forward and he was exactly that this year. There's no harm in bringing him back as a 4th liner and PKer.
"This team has had 4 consecutive first-round exits and refrained from ever retooling the roster"-Because the roster wasn't the reason they lost in the 1st round each of the past 3 years. Crappy goaltending sunk them in 2021 and 2022 and let's not forget in the bubble season Jack Johnson and the corpse of Justin Schultz were getting top 4 ice time. 2019 is the year where you throw your hands up and say they just got beat clean.
"If we want to contend again I think we need a massive retool, which I don't think is worth it."-The problem with this is that you're admitting defeat without even trying to give it another shot. This team has good enough pieces to add around that can elevate it to a contender. The ultimate reason why doing a massive retool doesn't make sense is because Crosby is still on the roster. You have to do whatever you can to win with him on the roster. If that destroys the future, who cares, winning beats any half-hearted argument about the future, one which is already bleak enough. No point in trying to be stuck in mediocrity or trying to retool which has no guarantee of working. Take the safest route forward and give the core 3 another 1-2 shots at a cup.
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