Quote:
Originally Posted by DeluxeMoustache
One thing we do know for sure is that 13 and 23 were not effective in the post season, again. They are key parts of the core. What happened, and what do you do about it?
Gaudreau had 99 points, he has elite skill. There have been posts outlining how much Monahan has scored relative to his draft class as well. They have skill that others would kill for. So why are they ineffective in the post season?
...Or do the players just not want to do what it takes?
When 13 and 23 were moving from ELC to second contract, he also fired the coach at the time. Did that send a message to the players about their accountability that the team has paid for ever since?
|
Too much success too soon. It happens to lots of professional athletes. They have success (points, money, acclaim) playing the way they enjoy. When a coach comes along and tries to show them that their way of playing will not translate to success in the playoffs, they can either get onboard or tune out the coach. IMHO, Gaudreau and Monahan did the latter. They were getting points. Getting paid. Why change?
Now, is that on Treliving? I guess it is to some extent. He could have told his star players to knuckle down and do what their coach told them. Scotty Bowman famously had that kind of talk with Steve Yzerman back before the Wings had won anything. Buckle down and change the way you play or you're out of here. And Yzerman listened. Today, that's less common. Players have more power than coaches - and often GMs - and they know it. This team had much the same problem with latter-day Iginla.
The fortunes of pro sports franchises often ride on whether they can acquire star players, and whether those star players are the kind who will do whatever the coach asks them to do to win. If that happens, everything else follows. If it doesn't, you spend years treading water until the stars retire or get moved.