Quote:
Originally Posted by PepsiFree
It's not just about making the coach happy, it's about having earned the respect of both the coach and the other players. Lucic, Richardson, Lewis, Coleman. These are guys that not only make the coach happy by playing the right way night in and night out, they have been there. They can positively contribute to the locker room and command respect even as 4th liners (in some of their cases) because they have the experience and the pedigree. They actually know what it takes and what kind of effort is required to win the cup. It's not just coming from the coach, it's coming from guys scattered throughout the roster.
I loved Hathaway, but if you think he commands even 1/4 of the respect a guy like Lewis does, you're probably wrong.
Sports psychology is a real thing. A big part of the game is played between the ears, in the locker room, and in practice. To change the culture you can't just have one coach and say "ok, change the culture," you need guys who buy in. And the more guys you have, the easier it's going to be to change the mentality of guys who struggle with buy-in. It's natural for guys like Tkachuk and Monahan who may not be producing the way they'd like to go back to old habits, but they have an entire team holding them accountable and saying "this is the way you win" from guys who have actually won.
Saying any one of these guys was a passenger is completely missing what it takes to win the cup.
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Why is it then that the 2018 team, which had Cup winners like Versteeg, Brouwer, Jagr in depth roles (plus a respected vet in Stajan), was unable to ein even half their games, while the 2019 team with relative nobodies like Mangiapane, Ryan, Hathaway in those roles, plus a headcase in was able to win the west?
Culture is a lot more than just putting guys with their name on the cup on the roster. And a lot of the time, it's teams with players who have won in the past that have a bad culture all the same. Toews... Kane... Doughty... Brown... Kopitar... is what those teams are missing Trevor Lewis and Brad Richardson on their fourth line?