Quote:
Originally Posted by Renegade Stylings
In Sacco's first full year as an NHL coach.
And since that time? Stastny has slowly been molded into a defense-first player, that's easy to see.
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Defense first? He's always had a good defensive acumen, but I wouldn't call him a checking center by any means.
Honestly I don't think Sacco is much different than any other coach in this league. How many coaches in the NHL do you remember, especially in this era, who have sustained success and don't put an emphasis on defense? The last "hey guys do whatever you want" coach I can remember was John Anderson, the 2nd-to-last guy to ever coach the Atlanta Thrashers.
I don't think Sacco loses faith in players necessarily because of a lack of attention to defense. On the contrary--David Jones is definitely playing better defense than he was when he was in Sacco's doghouse, but he's still not anything I'd call a defensively responsible forward. No, the reason Duchene and Mueller have fallen out of favor with Sacco is because neither is doing enough to secure the puck. Too many puck battles lost and too many turnovers. As a result, neither is producing all that much offensively. And ANY coach would do the same, at least those with any sense.