Quoting: Ste_Catherine_Street
They've had how many coaches already in their careers?
They're culpable too. Ya Edm has run circles a bit-but lets face it, these guys have to lead the way on the ice
Quoting: Billy316
But lead what? They've lead the league and the team , others have to show up too or at least be brought in
I watched Wendall Clark in TML do the same for years.
He chose to stay loyal instead of leave and suffered for it.
Dri and McD dont want to split up more then they want to be in EDM
If a team can capitalize on that locking up Dri and making room for McD
I think they'd play awesome
Lets say CHI makes the room long term to overpay them
Surround Bedard with the best talent for the first few years.
Maybe they work out a deal for both to stay, maybe they dont.
SEA is another team in a position to go all in
They're a product of their environment and that environment has been pretty stagnant, especially through their development years.
Top heavy lineup with no direction or shared responsibility through the forward group, poor personnel decisions on and off the ice, a perpetual search for a goaltender that will solve issues that can't be narrowed down to that one position, and just hedging their bets in general by settling on the next best thing instead of spending assets to secure players that will make a difference.
It's not McD and Draisaitl's fault that Edmonton became a 2 man show. That's the position they were put in.
Of the seven 1st round picks since McDavid, only Bouchard is making meaningful contributions. Two of those ended up being "busts" and the most recent three simply aren't ready (yet?).
The other is Broberg, who is hovering somewhere between bust and not ready yet.
They finally made an impact move acquiring Ekholm, but you can't play the waiting game while McDavid's contract years are ticking away.
They aren't the only team to gamble on a UFA goaltender over the last few years and regret it, but is the goaltending consistency related to the ability of their goaltenders over the last several years, or is it a product of the construction and deployment of the team in front of them?
The bottom 6 lacks identity and inclusion. They only see the ice because McDavid and Draisaitl can't play 60 minutes straight.
When your job description is basically "don't get scored on while the real players are resting", it's not particularly motivating or likely to result in offensive contributions.
The defense have all proven capable to varying degrees at one point or another, but they lack cohesiveness as a unit and they're expected to prop up that same flawed forward group.
Two players aren't going to solve all the issues, so stop focusing on what they are or are not doing. It's what's going on with the rest of the team that is an issue.
A good team can get by with average goaltending, but only a few truly elite goaltenders can get by with an average team. If you can't get one of the latter, focus on the "good team" part.
There are plenty of average goaltenders available when the team is ready for one.