Quote:
Originally Posted by dammage79
Call out some calls for sure. But you're setting a terrible terrible precedent for your team if you constantly go after the officials. You should be coaching them to ignore the refereeing BS and play through. Steel yourselves against tyranny and you shall prevail. Or something like that.
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Spot on. You go to that whip too often and you start creating a room full of victims who start dividing their energy between what they can control on the ice, and something over which they have little influence.
As for Smith, I suspect the door is now officially open for Rittich to audition for the #1 spot. Peters made a choice to respect the pedigree of a veteran, and regardless of who the players want behind them, they know they play for a coach who will give you some rope as long as the effort is extended. At this point Smith has been afforded an opportunity to display his wares, and he didn't have a lot to showcase. Replacing Smith with Rittich is seemless at this point, there is far less pressure on him to succeed as the team is presently being backed by someone doubting himself, and I can't see anyone in the room believing Smith has been slighted in any manner.
Of course if Smith is in the crease Saturday night, team management sees something the rest of us don't, or are just intent on forcing a large square peg into a small round hole. Regardless, if Peters/Treliving insist on sinking or swimming on the play of Mike Smith, they're likely to become familiar with the terrain at the bottom of the pond.