Bright idea Blake strikes again.
This team is crying out for an up and coming, think out of the box type leader, not a 1-3-1 establishment dinosaur.
I hate to say it, but if the Ducks can make a couple solid FA signings this year I can see them surpassing us. We are in cap hell with no #1 goaltender, losing Arvidsson and Roy, and the only players you can see taking a step up would be QB, and maybe Clarke and Spence, maybe.
Lots of potential players to regress at the same time unfortunately, think it's going to be a long season.
Lots of talk already this offseason about moving away from the 1-3-1, so I don’t expect it to be the default setting next year. Not going to sweat the system until I see it.
If the roster has that many issues, then it doesn’t matter who the new coach is anyway. But if it as bad as you say, much better to burn out this current vision on a retread than bring in a Gallant and not have the right roster for him.
On the flipside, since this team cannot be mistaken for a Cup Contender right now, then you also don’t need a Gallant to put them over the edge.
What’s the reality? A better roster than you are saying, but on par with what many others are saying: a slightly above average team who can make the playoffs but isn’t dangerous. And yet this is the team Blake has been building, so Hiller is the only logical choice. There’s not a ton of room for wholesale changes and teams who make the playoffs three years in a row don’t burn it all down and start a rebuild. Sorry - don’t care who ownership is. That doesn’t get the greenlight anywhere.
So you adjust, you move on from players who no longer serve a purpose, and you bring in young talent. You had also better upgrade LD or a top 6 wing. Provided Danault is the 3rd line center next year, i like our bottom 6 more than in recent years. Laf won’t hold back Phil’s production the way he will PLD’s.
Next year Turcotte and Thomas and Clarke are all on the team. An absolute waste of time to think otherwise barring one gets traded. This past season Q broke out and Laf and Spence cut their teeth. Next season Lee and Helenius are likely towering on the third line. The season after that a decent chance Ziemmer is up. Portillo will be up. Pinelli and Dvorak might be up too if they develop properly.
There is still a path right now to keep moving forward while bringing up lots of young talent and making a couple solid UFA signings. It is a path that can use a coach already familiar with the organization and pipeline. A bigger name and Bright Idea Blake is chasing the next shiny object.
