Ending the rumours and speculation. [Sedins]

[EdgarM]

1 hour ago, The Lock said:

Is it an excuse or is it merely something you don't want to hear as it goes against what you think? Someone who thinks things through thinks of both sides and never looks at the other's side as merely "excuses". That's simply not being objective or (how I guess some people like to say) realistic. That's more wanting to be right and ignoring any other possibilities as a result. However, this isn't about that....

 

I think there's a factor here that can get easily overlooked when you look at just the numbers. One thing I've noticed is a lot of players have said time and time again that they look up to players like the Sedins. There's actual evidence in interviews that the Sedins do a lot more than just what's on the ice. They clearly inspire and motivate based on how the young players react.

 

If, in theory, we traded the Sedins, especially after saying they won't be traded, what is that going to tell our young players? Would it send a positive message or a negative one? We can look at numbers and go "oh these people are declining so let's get rid of them"; however, that's where analytics tends to falter because analytics fails when it comes to intangibles. When has anyone ever been able to put numbers to how a human is doing and be truly accurate? Never, in the entire history of humanity has this ever happened, otherwise we'd have android more advanced than Data from Star Wars.

 

So overall, while I understand you are wanting what's "best for the team", looking at a stat sheet going "they are declining" does not necessarily translate to them leaving as being "best for the team".

 

EDIT: Just as a side note, I'm curious to see how our young players react with Willie D's firing. Will it send a positive or negative message I guess we'll find out. That's a different scenario though and there are a lot of things we'll likely never know in terms of coach interaction with the players. So much stuff happens behind closed doors which makes it virtually impossible to be accurate about anything.

Don't get me wrong I have been a Sedin fan when they were entertaining, but,  not so entertaining anymore. I also get that they are an influence to the rest of the team but what is that really worth at this point? Bo said himself that he has learned a lot from them the last couple of years how much more "influence" does he need more from them. They are not going to be giving him any pointers in the playoffs any time soon.

The Sedins are an anomaly in that when a player gets to their stage in their career they usually stick around because even if they lost some of their offensive flair they could still play well defensively. Well the Sedins have never been regular Penalty Killers and never will. So then what? The league is getting faster as well which does not bode well for them either.

I really wish they could still perform like they did a few years ago but I really don't think that's going to happen. That is just the reality of the situation.

[Alflives]

56 minutes ago, The Lock said:

Like I said, who knows what happened behind the bench. Interesting quote though.

I think everyone agrees that Willie (from what we can tell) is a really nice person.  

[The Lock]

1 hour ago, EdgarM said:

Don't get me wrong I have been a Sedin fan when they were entertaining, but,  not so entertaining anymore. I also get that they are an influence to the rest of the team but what is that really worth at this point? Bo said himself that he has learned a lot from them the last couple of years how much more "influence" does he need more from them. They are not going to be giving him any pointers in the playoffs any time soon.

The Sedins are an anomaly in that when a player gets to their stage in their career they usually stick around because even if they lost some of their offensive flair they could still play well defensively. Well the Sedins have never been regular Penalty Killers and never will. So then what? The league is getting faster as well which does not bode well for them either.

I really wish they could still perform like they did a few years ago but I really don't think that's going to happen. That is just the reality of the situation.

I think the answer to "is it worth it anymore?" should come from the players themselves and how much they are learning. The thing is, we'll likely see Boeser back next year along with other rookies. This will likely happen for a while. The players coming in next year will at least get the chance to learn from the Sedins next year.

 

One comparison I've generally made is with Edmonton. They had players like Hall, etc, but not a whole lot in terms of leadership. At times, that locker room was reportedly a mess. No leadership. I don't want to see that happen here and I don't think Sutter and Edler alone would fix that. We need a transition from our previous best players to our new best players and, if we let go of the last of our old squad too early, who knows what can happen at that point. At least, unlike Edmonton, we have Horvat, but I think we still need to see the Sedins here at least another season, if not longer with less money later on.

 

That's my opinion actually. I want to see a smooth transition and the passing of the torch in gradual stages rather than throwing the torch at the youngsters and risking that torch burning out.