Hopefully the break also allowed the boys to reset after that brutal January schedule. Also Arvi back in a red no contact jersey practicing with the team for the first time since his injury. Will join the team on the upcoming road trip.
“We had an unbelievable energy at practice today.” – Drew Doughty
— Russell Morgan (@NHLRussell) February 8, 2024
by AdrianKempee
4 Comments
I remember when John Stevens got fired, the players really did seem to feel bad. I remember a statement that stuck with me, but I can’t remember who said it. “We got a good man fired.” Or something to that effect. We hoped it would be the wakeup call, but the roster was not strong and they hired Willie Dejardins to coach which of course did not work.
But I remember that sentiment and I wonder if the players there feel the same way about Todd McLellan. Say what you will about him, the team was in absolute shambles when he got there and instilled some structure. He got the team to believe that if they did the right things, they shocked everyone with back-to-back playoffs when a lot of people were speculating whether it was time to trade the rest of the cup core. He seemed like a good guy, who clearly cared, who valued hard work over flash, and it almost got them through.
I remember the firing of Terry Murry also being hard on some of the players. Sutter credited him with leaving such a good foundation to work with.
I hope they respond to Hiller with the fire they showed after Murray’s firing instead of disarray after Stevens’ firing. They need to keep that same energy into the back stretch of the season.
Wouldn’t be surprised if arvy being back had a big part in that
Let’s hope that energy carries on into Saturday. Our biggest game of the season so far. For a lot of reasons.
Sounds like a bunch of guys were excited to turn the page.. which doesn’t sound to me like the MAIN issue was guys going for points etc.. the losing for an entire month doesn’t sound like that either.
I respect and like Todd, he brought real calm and stability to the franchise. But now it’s time to behave like the contenders we are.