Well, I'm sure many people will disagree with me. And that's fine.
But I can't help but feel this to be an unbelievable mistake by management.
Baertschi has gone from the fan favorite to the gutter in the span of 12 months. He has received nothing but unnecessary criticism from management and coaches while other players who are making the same mistakes get passes.
Colborne, who was god awful to start last season, was gifted a spot because he wasn't exempt from waivers. It turned out by the end of the season, and at least from the the pre-season this year, he's become a decent player. He didn't earn those minutes, yet he still developed and is continuing to develop. People seem to be just fine with Colborne this season. It turned out keeping him in the NHL was good for him.
And at the same time, we see numerous healthy scratches for Baertschi before Christmas. Few people on the forum were happy, many more upset with Hartley, and before Christmas, he's sent down to Abbotsford. Then Burke comes out and blasts him in the media, which was unquestionably the stupidest thing he's done as part of this management group. A 21-year old kid, who two and a half months prior, had such high expectations not just from fans, but from himself. Suddenly people labeled him as a poor defensive player, that he needed to round out his game in the AHL to get better.
What? Who actually thought this before Burke mentioned it? Statistically, Baertschi was no worse than Monahan. He was certainly much better than Colborne at the time as well.
He was a rookie. Nobody should have expected him to be Patrice Bergeron, but at the same time, it's not like he was the Mike Green of forwards. He was just fine. Burke exaggerated the issue.
So he's told to work on his two-way game in Abbotsford. He's told he needs to engage himself more in the game. He goes down to the Heat, where the genius coach decides to put him on the right side. Smart thing to try out something new with a player who was clearly frustrated with himself and lacking confidence. As a result, he barely puts up any points during his first couple months. He rebounds a little later when he's put back on LW, and the season ends.
He's told again in his exit interviews that he needs to focus on the defensive side of the game. Being physical, and involving himself in the corners, etc.
So he works hard in the off-season and comes into training camp in great shape once again. He's not expecting a spot to be handed to him. He knows what he has to do: be a better defensive player, engage yourself, and the points will come.
And he does that. He didn't put up many points in the pre-season, but Baertschi was always the first forward back on his line. He was always helping his defence below the hash marks. He was getting into scrums, throwing his weight around, and fighting in the corners.
And then happy birthday, Sven Baertschi, you're going back to the AHL, despite having improved upon all the aspects we asked you to improve upon. We need to make sure Setoguchi gets that ice time so we can hopefully trade him for a fourth round pick come the trade deadline.
And people are upset that he's confused? A little sad? Maybe a little angry? What other response would you want from a player? The organization continues to put him in positions to fail and then criticizes him when he does. And then the fans get on him.
Quote:
Originally Posted by AcGold
Kind of shooting himself in the foot here. Saying something like that his bosses take notice, he should keep it for private conversations with his family and close friends. He doesn't know how to help his cause.
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Really? He should keep this private? I'm sure Baertschi was thinking the same thing when Burke threw him to the wolves in front of reporters as well.
He was frustrated and was just answering a question truthfully. He never said he's going to give a half-assed effort in Adirondack. He never said he has nothing to learn in the AHL. He will go down and try to get back to the NHL. But I think fans, and management, need to understand that given all that's gone on in the last 12 months, that's not an easy thing to do.
It would be nice if all hockey players were the same. All boring robots who were motivated by the same things, who gave cliched answers in interviews. Unfortunately, they're not. You can't expect every prospect to respond the same way. (at the same time, no other player in our organization has been treated as poorly as Baertschi over the last 12 months, so it's really hard to compare how others would respond to similar adversity).
I think, for once, it would have been good to tell him something new for a change. "You done good, kid". Constant criticism over the last year hasn't worked. Attacking him and no other players hasn't worked. This was an opportunity missed to change the downward spiral.
He didn't outplay Gaudreau (no other forward did, vet or rookie), but he certainly outplayed most of the forwards at camp.
So don't get mad at Baertschi. Don't call him an entitled brat. Don't call him a whiner. No other player on this team has gone through the adversity he's had to face.
I think he earned the spot, but even if he didn't, the same old same old isn't working. I don't know why people would expect it to work in the first place.
My apologies for any spelling or grammar mistakes as I haven't had time to edit.