[Cali Panthers Fan]

Originally Posted by FireGilbert

I was a loss or two away from pulling a Cali and asking the mods for a username change to FireGulutzan or HireGilbert. Very happy I didn't do that and the season turned around.

Oh, has this become a thing now? Not sure how I feel about the dubious honor of having it named after me.

As for myself, I have to eat a lot of crow about Elliott. He's been nothing short of incredible lately, and is one of the biggest reasons this team is where they are now.

I wrote this about Elliott after that bad stretch in January, and needless to say it was too harsh and wrong of me.

Brian "I may as well have Jamie Lannister's gold prosthetic from Game of Thrones for all the good my glove hand does me" Elliott.

I'm done with Elliott. If anyone is willing to take him at the trade deadline I'd dump him and see if either of Rittich or Gillies looks ok at the NHL level backing up Johnson.

I said a couple of things about Gio and Gulutzan as well that I need to eat crow for:

Where is the passion? Where is the intensity? Where is the willingness to go into a corner and come away with a puck?

I put this one squarely on the demeanor of our coach and captain. They are far too calm in the face of incredible adversity.

Gulutzan is clearly good at coaching defensive structure and getting the most out of less talented players, but has no ability to coach offensively skilled players at all.

I also called out our top players for not having enough passion for the game. That was probably true at the time, but the famous train ride occurred and they exhibited that they clearly have a tremendous passion for the game.

I was worried at times this year, but I never completely lost faith. I guess that's what you're supposed to do as a fan, but it can be hard sometimes. I understand where those other fans are coming from when they flip out and call for the coach to be fired, but patience is often required. It's a good lesson to remember.