DoubleMinor
Top Forward
I’m a little uncomfortable with the framing on this. But it’s a board where we all get to voice our opinions and I have zero interest in arguing with anyone.
This team blew leads during the year by doing the exact thing we saw in the playoffs.
They sat back, flipped the puck out, and lost leads and games because of it. Not frequently, but it happened.
In the aftermath the coach and players admitted that the team just let off the gas. They did it. They admitted to doing it. No one accused the Coach of dictating that strategy. No one. I don’t believe anyone watching felt it was the strategy. We accepted the explanation that they messed up.
In Game 1 I quickly saw that they were doing it. I thought “If you think you’re going to beat this team by flipping the puck out for the final 20 minutes you’re crazy”. I never, ever believed that was the strategy from the coach of the GM or the owner. I saw it as the players being scared.
All of us are miles away from being close enough to know what was said, who said it. We aren’t hearing the conversations among coaches during the periods. We don’t know what is said when the coaches huddle between periods. We don’t know what the coaches say to the players about strategy. And we don’t know what the players say to one another.
(We do hear in postgame comments what the coach and players say.)
We have nothing concrete beyond that.
We do know that no one involved said the strategy was to sit back. I don’t believe this Coach would tell the players one thing and then deny it knowing that the players would become aware of the lie and then go along with the lie. I think that is just too far fetched.
As someone who played sports through college and had some coaching experience I can tell you that it is not uncommon for players to disregard what the coach has instructed. Not intentionally. But the players fall into a comfort zone and ignore the strategy.
As a coach I know there were times I would tell the players what I wanted only to watch them do the opposite. Again, it’s not intentional. At times the message goes in one ear and out the other.
It is fair to criticize the coaching decisions, and I’m not only tolerant of it but at times participate in that. The challenge was not wise. The decision to avoid playing the fourth line or third pair was a mistake, in my estimation.
I just have an issue with the accusations from our distance of people being liars. I don’t think it’s appropriate. We don’t know enough to make that claim.
I’m not calling anyone out. We all have strong feelings about the Kings. We have various ways we deal with the disappointments. I just hope we can accept that we share a devotion and passion for the Kings and can voice our differences in opinion without the harsh language.
One final comment is that I do appreciate the variety of thoughts people share here. I don’t agree with all I read. But I do like different perspectives and opinions.
