I am not surprised by the overly negative reactions but I do believe this team is built well and believe Gulutzan is a good coach. I don’t agree with some of the line combinations and decisions I’ve seen, but we’re not privy to the insights and you can’t deny that once they bought into the system and got on same page last year, they were an impressive team. For whatever reason, they’re struggling to get to same page this year but it will come.
I’m not going to pretend I know what’s going on and state things as fact as so many do but here’s some theories;
1) Adding Jagr, as much as it could be great, has created a situation where the you g guys who were coming into their own are now second guessing themselves and throwing their confidence off because Jagr has shared what worked for him and suggested what they should try to do. Not only that, anyone on Jagr’s line is too focused on getting the puck to him and not leaving their vision open to the bigger picture.
2) Other new additions (Hamonic, Jankowski) are still trying to mould their game to fit their linemates instead of doing what has given them success up until now and letting coach decide what linemates work best for them.
3) Players are so focused on trying to do what coach is preaching, they’re not taking advantage of their natural instincts and abilities. Once they figure out a way to blend both together, the goals will come and the defense will strengthen.
There’s so many more things that can lead to where we’re at and how we’re playing but I do think the answer is in the dressing room and the coach is not to blame for guys not forming chemistry (although as an outsider I do question some of the decisions). This is a solid team with depth to spare. If they can get on the same page, it is built for a long playoff run.
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