[PGT] Embarassing loss to Sharks 5-2

[Henry Fool]

Originally Posted by cannon7

I hate to say it, and I haven't been one of the posters saying it, but Hartley and his crew need to go. This team needs to start back at zero and the rest of the season will determine who stays and who goes. I thought that an experienced coach like Hartley could turn this group around and employ the "always earned, never given" philosophy. But we've only seen the opposite. The old tricks aren't working and Hartley refuses to learn any new ones. And worst of all, his players haven't done him any favors -- if I didn't attribute this dismal play to a crisis of confidence, I'd be convinced there's a silent revolt in that locker room.

Pull the plug Treliving. Give guys who care, like Grant, Agostino, etc. a chance. I'd much rather watch some twenty year olds figure things out than watch a bunch of burnouts who've long since forgotten.

It's tempting to point at coaching because so many things have gone wrong and we feel like there must be a general explanation, but I think that underestimates the fragility of a rebuilding team.

To put it more specifically, the young players in the team can't yet cover for all the key veterans playing significantly worse than last year, all at the same time. Giordano, Hudler, the goalies, all playing incredibly badly. That's all it takes for the team to fall apart. Hamilton can't come in and do what Giordano did last season. Bennett can't yet match a career season from Hudler.

The backbone of the team is gone and with it all the spirit of last season. So many things go wrong at the start of the season and there's too much inexperience on the team to fix so many failing parts at the same time. Nothing works so what are you supposed to build on?

Maybe a genius coach can do something in that situation. For sure the coaches have failed to correct it. But I wonder if it's too much to ask at this point.

[bubbsy]

Originally Posted by Gaskal

-Refuses to pressbox Wideman, rewards him for crap play with PP time
-Keeps giving Russell top pairing minutes
-Lets Bollig out of the pressbox
-Gives Granlund 6 min of ice time

The ballsy move to scratch wide an in game 2 of the season last year, yet letting the same guy suck so bad night after night has led me to a vote of no confidence in the coaching staff.

[Huntingwhale]

Originally Posted by bubbsy

The ballsy move to scratch wide an in game 2 of the season last year, yet letting the same guy suck so bad night after night has led me to a vote of no confidence in the coaching staff.

Mind boggling indeed. Where is the Hartley who wasn't afraid to hold guys like Wideman, Backlund and even Gaudreau accountable?? Seems to me that scratches nowadays consist of the 12 and 13th forward swapping places along with the occasional 6 & 7th D. That's just not good enough.

There must be a mandate from someone above to keep playing a guy like Wideman. Can't for the life of me figure out why he's still in games getting his 20+ mins. I got crapped on earlier this season for saying Backlund should sit, but I'll say it again: he should. Haven't really noticed him the last while. He has 2 pts in his last 9 games, to go along with his 4 shots in the last 5 games. Not good enough.

And Gio? God, Gio. I know he's the captain and all, but I would consider it a huge step foward for the coaching staff if Hartley sacked up and sat the captain for 1 game. Maybe having Gio sit and watch from the top for 1 game would....I don't even know, let him have a view of how crappy everyone is?? I know I wouldn't want to be in Hartley's shoes right now.

Only thing I can think of is that these guys are excelling in practice away from the cameras which leads them to getting game time.