I think taking a bet that Sutter is able to turn this team around and make a good run with this roster is a losing bet. Love Sutter. HOF coach. But this team is full of so many holes that failed to get plugged. It really is a losing bet, and 30 years of mediocrity lead do not lead me to believe that there is a solid plan in place.
If the fate of this team is placed on the laurels of the head coach...god help us. IMO way too much faith put in Sutter to be able to turn this around
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Then again...if ever there was a single head coach in NHL history to turn water into wine, it's god damn Darryl Sutter
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I think this upcoming season really is a toss of the coin and could go either way. I suppose if Markstrom plays like a solid #1 all season and stays healthy, Andersson and Valimaki take big steps forward, Hanifin solidifies himself as a top pairing D, Manginer and Dube both take steps forward, Tkachuk bounces back, and the purple Gatorade crew makes a comeback, then this team will be alright.
Lots of things have to go right though. We'll see if Sutter really is the magician to mix it all together, or whether it's a big steamy pile of crap by month #2 and a slog to the trade deadline.