i'm a bit surprised. They showed glimpses, especially earlier on, about how good they could be, around some of the up and coming talent they have. It is especially intriguing when you look at the next wave of quality prospects coming (strome, dvorak, merkley, perlini, etc).
i think everyone would agree that the team is on an upward swing to be a consistent playoff team within a year or so. i wonder, if management looked at their market and made the decision on whether the team philosophy and style of play has to be much more exciting to watch. You can't be in a non-hockey market where the team has struggled to make a dent in acquiring real fans and then play a relatively boring brand of hockey.
mind you, arizona/phx still playing a boring/overly-structured style could be a terrible assumption on my part. I simply refuse to tune into a phoenix game due to their reputation of being boring, and then the games they play vs the flames don't really change my opinion.
i think maloney/tippet are on the path of a winning team very soon, so still a strange decision.
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