[Caged Great]

It's hard going through a rebuild experience.

The team has growing pains all the way through. It's a matter of putting out fires that creep up like with the goaltending last year. This year, it's a lack of legitimate top 9 forwards and bottom 3 defenders. Last year the top half of the team was basically all star calibre, while the bottom half was barely AHL calibre. This year, the bottom half of the team by in large is pulling their weight and the top half of the lineup is not.

Just like with a season ago, nobody could have forecasted that all three of their formerly solid goaltenders would vanish entirely. Nobody could have forecasted that all of Gaudreau, Monahan, Brodie, Hamilton, Giordano, and Bennett would be playing at the level they are and making the amount of mistakes they are.

The only question over the next 10 months will be how the organization makes further adjustments to this team.

It is understandable why people would be becoming more fairweather. It is frustrating to see your team having difficulties translating their skills on the ice. It should begin to come together soon, but it might not and that is the annoying part.