Quote:
Originally Posted by Classic_Sniper
I voted NO because there's no candidate who can magically rid this team of their biggest problems which is generally individual player mistakes. The coach doesn't ask the players to turn pucks over, he doesn't tell them to miss wide open nets, he doesn't tell them to take boneheaded penalties, he doesn't tell the 4th line to be completely useless out there. There is no pill that this team can swallow to make them an instant juggernaut to satisfy everyone's expectations.
Can someone explain to me why expectations were so high for this team anyway. What exactly did we do to take ourselves from a team that missed the playoffs in 2016 and then barely made the playoffs in 2017 to an expected cup contender this season? Like, did adding Travis Hamonic who might be a slight upgrade over Derek Engelland somehow put us over the top or something? Sure the goaltending has improved, but Smith has looked human for the last month +. We still have the exact same forward group and this inconsistent team that we had last season is not surprisingly playing inconsistent again. That shouldn't be a shocker. It's a young team and young players are inconsistent. Just look at the wild swing of Sam Bennett's season so far up to date.
I still have not seen anything anyone has written that justifies firing a coach mid-playoff push that will guarantee anything. It's like people have convinced themselves that picking up Darryl Sutter or whoever will just solve all the team's problems and we'll go on a tear. It could just as easily crash and burn this season to the ground. I mean, just look at how well Sutter's old team is doing with out him behind the bench this season as a possible scenario.
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The biggest problems you point out can be pointed right back at coaching. When your systems (breakout, PP, set up, etc) are so mickey mouse that other teams know where it is going, it is going to lead to a lot of turnovers.
Expectations were high because Hamonic is much more than a slight upgrade on Engelland as proven throughout their respective careers. There are a number of guys on this team not playing even close to their proven potential under other systems.
There is no way you are comparing this team with the team that missed the playoffs and are not seeing a difference... you said yourself that young players are inconsistent so those young guys are all 2 years older not to mention some key additions. It is a much stronger team than what we had 2 years ago.
A more interesting poll would be "if X, Y, Z were available" (insert top 3 potentially available coaches), should the flames fire GG? I have to assume over 90% of people vote yes. GG has nothing to show over an extended sample size with a roster that was a lock for the playoffs per sports insiders and Vegas. In a way, I feel for him because if Cameron could contribute with a proper PP, we are most likely sitting comfortably on the inside.
I believe Cameron should have been gone over the break and perhaps you give GG the ropes to years end and see if he can turn things around. If so, he earns another year but if nothing changes then you enter next year with a new staff.