I've warmed up to the idea of Peters since we first started looking into him.
Things I like:
-He seems to be a bit gruff and blunt. These were qualities that I liked about Sutter
-He seems to have put some young players in positions to succeed and had them develop well. Case in point guys like Aho, Teravainen, Slavin, Pesce, etc. It's promising for the future of guys like Jankowski and Bennett
-He demands hard work above all else. As fans its easy to cheer for teams who bust their ass off and try hard. What we can't stand is lazy, lackadaisical play.
-He seems very well prepared and seems to have successful systems in terms of possession. I know people hate the idea of possession because Glen failed with it but IMO Glen failed more due to how he composed his lineup and how long he stuck with mediocre lines. Possession is what almost every modern coach is preaching so to dislike Peters because he wants possession is silly.
Personally I don't think he had anywhere near the depth in CAR that he'll have in CGY. He had very little star power. I think CGY's top trio of Gaudreau, Monahan and Tkachuk trump CAR's equivalent by a large margin. I think CGY's goaltending is quite a bit ahead of CAR's. I think our defences are probably the closest of any of the areas. If Treliving gets another depth scorer I think our team has the depth to contend. If Peters proves to be an upgrade on GG and I don't see how he wouldn't be, I think we're looking pretty good for next season.
GG was horrible for many reasons we've talked about. Peters does not seem to have the same shortcomings. Peters knows that ice time is the way he gets players to play the way he wants. GG just seemed to trot out the same groups over and over regardless of performance. Peters has a history of developing young players and putting them in situations to succeed. GG IMO put Bennett and Jankowski in a tough spot to succeed and we didn't really see any progression from Bennett under his watch.
I see lots of reasons for optimism. Doesn't surprise me the same negative nancies are whining and bitching like they usually do. Only time will tell. It will be interesting to see who the assistants are and if Treliving makes a major move to add another offensive depth piece. My outlook on the team is very different now that GG is gone. Hope has been restored.
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