Quote:
Originally Posted by SuperMatt18
Of course Treliving would, these are guys he drafted and developed he would want nothing more than for them to succeed at the NHL level.
Problem is that Sutter in his older years has really started to lean into size and veterans being the only way to win.
He wasnt like that in San Jose or in 03-04 in Calgary. His two cup winning teams in LA were young too.
In 03-04 Regehr, Leopold, Saprykin, Kobasew and Lombardi were all 23 or younger to start the season.
This team only Adam Ruzicka. None of Saprykin, Kobasew, or Lombardi had the AHL success that Pelletier, Phillips, or Zary have had.
Maybe we just need the 03-04 Sutter back because that coach was open to playing young players.
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I want kids in the lineup as much as anyone, but part of the problem is that Brad Treliving has assembled a full roster of veterans. Sutter is in a precarious situation where if he starts benching vets willynilly for unknown quantities, he loses the room.
I am not defending Sutter, but it is a lot easier for a coach to pit a Pelettier against a Phillips or Duehr than against a Lucic or Lewis. It's just a reality about the roster he has.
Last year we were very lucky that Zadorov was a new addition, his early struggles are the only reason Sutter had the balls to put Oliver Kylington in the top four.
The tough, cold-blooded, forward-thinking decisions have to be made by the GM because they are not in the room, the coach has to manage egos and companionships.
Treliving calling these guys up is just lip-service. If he isn't going to open up roster spots for them, he's basically just scapegoating Sutter. Sutter benching a player isn't just about writing new lines on a whiteboard, it's about having a conversation with a player who has been, probably mediocre not bad, and saying that he's going to gamble on an unknown. Even if we as fans see the obvious value in that, that player being benched is probably the first domino in a soft mutiny.