Quote:
Originally Posted by number72
Sure the roster is faster, more skilled and the people inside the jersey have change but the team is not more truculent/physical/gritty then it was four years ago.  And for 90% change in the roster how come there is not 90% improvement in the team. Seems like a lot of change for changes sake rather then for results.
And until this year, the team was about as competitive as those earlier teams. Three for four year rebuild is not amazing overachieving feat nor a disaster. It is an average rebuild. Average rebuild is Average. |
The biggest problem Burke had was goaltending. He didn't even realize how bad it was until after the season had started (hence the Kessel trade). I truly believe he would have spent a ton of time and energy getting an upgrade in goal first, that summer had he known just how bad things were back there.
He said many times that you build a team from the goal crease out. That, more than anything has snakebitten this club and the rebuild.
We're seeing results now, because of goaltending. Sure, the players are also that many more games along, so they have developed chemistry and whatnot. Add in some tinkering that Burke has done to improve the line-up, yet again. But the single biggest impact on the team this season (and part of last season) has been in the crease.
I can't criticize the rebuidl or Burke's handling of it, since we all knew it would take more than a season or two. And I expected some mistakes (the Lebdas and excelbys) on his part, since contrary to popular belief, he isn't a god
But screwing up on the talent assessment in the crease is all on him. And I would even go as far as saying it added a season (year) to the rebuild. Had this team gotten at least average goaltending from the start, they would have won more games, gotten more confident, and all that builds momentum and a psychological expectation of winning (in the players).
Rebuild took about a year longer than I thought it would, but in the grand scheme of things, it looks like it'll all work out.