With St. Louis winning, we are now tied with Buffalo, albeit having played 3 more games. Our record is 1 point better than this time last year. We (and I’m mostly directing this at our front office, BUT also us as a fanbase as I will explain later) need to seriously assess the potential of this team as is, and how to move forward properly after CORRECTLY stares at Barry Trotz assessing our place in this league.

I don’t want to preach to the choir here. We all know how abysmal this team has been of late. My issue is more so with our collective complacency as an organization, media conglomerate bought and paid by the team, and honestly….us as fans. I wish we gave more of a fuck. Sometimes I wish we had a bit of Toronto in us, granted I am very much aware of how close we were having this franchise moved within 50 miles of that city….I just wish we had some more fight. We can and SHOULD for this team, even if there’s not much to cheer for other than Matty Hatty, but importantly, we need to also provide proper pushback when the front office runs this org into the ground. I know it may not feel right, but we need to boo more. We need to be more vocal about wanting change, even if it ultimately won’t amount to much.

I get it, we’re at the apathetic part of the grieving cycle, but fuck it’s been almost a decade since the cup final and somehow even with newer faces in the org (yet still some old blood), we cling onto a far-gone notion that this team can compete.

And let me be clear, the change we SHOULD be pushing for, is one to guarantee a better future than our current path is trailblazing. So, I’m all for firing Bruno. That should have already happened after last season, frankly. But we need to be realistic that this is a necessary change but we shouldn’t or even want immediate success with whoever the new coach is. There needs to be a vvvvvvveeeeerrrrrry fucking clear plan from Trotz, no bullshitting, and some honesty that, “hey, we may continue to suck for a little while, but we need to change and prepare for our future. And that means…..a rebuild.” I need to hear him say that word, and mean it. Because anything other than that, is a fool’s errand delusional farce. So the new coach needs to be one with experience, and one who can facilitate youth and their development.

And ya know what, we need to be serious about a rebuild and really look for a top (1 or 2) pick. We need a generational talent. You look at the league right now, and we need a Bedard, a Celebrini, a Carlsson, a Makar. And not fuck up the pick. And then, we need to manage and develop the youth better than we have so we can produce more Matthew Woods, not just maybes or what ifs. Not all high picks will pan out, but we need to be better, and we need a better coach than Bruno who does fuck all with youth management.

Bottom line, and I’d like to see some consensus here on this: I’m ok with arlosing. I am. This franchise has done it a lot. But we had fucking grit, and effort. And I’d rather watch kids like Wood find a friend like McKenna or Voerhoff etc, and lose for a bit before turning it around ANY DAY, over watching Stamkos get paid to retire early. ANY DAY. Idk how much yall watch other teams rn, but San Jose, Montreal, Anaheim, Philly, and Utah are fun as hell to watch. Not only do we suck, but it’s boring hockey in addition to knowing our future is fucked, especially with every day that goes by where Trotz doesn’t know what he wants to do.

It’s gonna suck, but we need to move O’Reilly, and it needs to be for a haul. It pains me to watch him be one of the only guys playing with heart and being so hard on himself, and we need to be strategic and realistic. These are the kind of moves that need to happen, and we need to move forward with a fresh and realistic vision of the future. That messaging needs to be clear, concise, and with intent. <3

8 comments

  1. To clarify my comment about watching Stamkos retire early, I’m alluding to hopefully Trotz not repeating boneheaded contracts on aging vets. I know hindsight is 20/20 and we were excited at the time for the signings, but now the focus needs to be on developing and trading for youth.

  2. Lmao we been mid for so long yall acting like a dynasty crumbled. No turnaround is immediate yall need to learn patience.

    Teams go through the cycle of being dog shit, it doesn’t last forever.

  3. I don’t want the team to willingly lose, but I know this is part of the cycle. If Wood continues to score, if Svech can find his footing again, if Kimmel starts being a contributor and Vange is consistent, then even with the losses, the team has a bright future.

    Some people in this sub were begging for a tank to draft high. The tank is underway. And now everyone is upset that the team is bad. This is why I didn’t want the team to tank. It’s not fun to watch. But there’s legitimate reasons to be optimistic. Wood is the first of the Trotz picks to play meaningfully for the team. It looks like Trotz made a good pick for where the team was selecting that year.

    This offseason Smith, McCarron, Haula, Bunting, and Blakenburg all have their contracts expire. I don’t think any of those guys are coming back (except, maybe, Bunting). This will open up opportunities for Surin, Martin, Stiga, Edstrom, and Ufko and/or Molendyk. If opportunities aren’t made for the younger guys then, then I will be the first to bring out the pitchfork.

    And I agree, it’s time to get what the team can for O’Reilly. I like a lot of the top tier prospects in this draft. Haven’t gotten around to the latter half of the first round, but I think there will probably be someone worth adding to the farm system.

  4. Outside observer, I have no idea what the game plan is/has been.
    It feels like Trotz is trying to rebuild, retool, and compete all at the same time.

  5. Wait til they get back from Sweden, I wont be surprised if something happens then. Dunno what, but *something*

  7. I’ve said this before and I’ll say it again. Trotz is leading this team like he’s playing NHL franchise mode with gm firing turned off. There’s no agency, no commitment and in turn the team is coasting along without a clear identity.

    We’ve been lulled into complacency by always being close, but never close enough and it has made it roots deep into our administrative branch. The ownership doesn’t care as long as the bottom line maintains its status quo, profits.

    We need a purge in the FO, we need people who has the balls to commit to a single plan, a plan that has been blatantly obvious since 2018. Rebuild. Our team has deeply rooted structural issues that cannot be fixed with a soft retool anymore, and we need people who are competent enough to do so.

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