Por (Nancy Pacini) on December 02, 2008 (Suggest removal)

No problem at all with either Craig or Vrbata sitting.  Craig is not the player he was before his injuries, and I’ve taken to calling Vrbata Casper, as in the friendly ghost, as in invisible.  He seemed to step it up a bit after Tocchet took over, but just for a game or two.  Give the hungry kids in Norfolk a chance to show what they can do, maybe they will shake things up a bit, dog knows we need something to happen.

Por (Derek H) on December 02, 2008 (Suggest removal)

I think its a great idea to rotate everyone up to the press box. It certainly can’t hurt things at this point. Let the players see what is going on from a Bird’s Eye view. I know that the angles are different from up there, but still, one can retain some good lessons while observing for a game.

Por (Mikal69) on December 02, 2008 (Suggest removal)

i hope the guys from norfolk show the “comfy” players how to show some heart,
and hopefully Downie keeps his cool. if all else fails, throw Downie and AR2KN on D, not many would want to cross the blue line then.

Por (Bill Berg) on December 02, 2008 (Suggest removal)

Craig has not had the fire and desire he had before ALL his injuries. Craig would be in front of net like the Cuach has asked for but not this season. As for Vrbata he has skills and has been able to put puck in net, but I think he is a player who needs to play with same linemates for 5-6 games so he can have comfort levels and commuication. The 2 call-ups can only put some JUMP in the TEAM and give their best as they would like a CHANCE to stay. Maybe the team is putting a package of players together to make some move to help JUMP START this TEAM which should be HIGHER GAOLS per game then what they have produced!!

Por (Watching from Canada) on December 02, 2008 (Suggest removal)

How would anyone know if a player shows “fire” if he isn’t being given the opportunity to show it. Mere minutes per game do not allow for a showcase. I agree some players should be sitting, but not these two. This team is in turmoil and it comes from the top. I imagine the list of players looking for a trade is long. What a shame the management has taken this team so low. The potential is there but with upper level interference, who could respond.

Por (Jason Harlow) on December 02, 2008 (Suggest removal)

Not sure if it will help or not, Eric.

Considering that ‘horrible defense man’ Dan Boyle has 21 points (more than ANY player on this team) and he was swiftly traded when this circus came to town, I think the real problem still lays somewhere near the top.

If your players do not like you, why would they go out and bust some butt to win a game? It is much easier to go though the motions and collect a check while allowing the ownership’s mistakes to shine through.

Por (Louis Sanderson) on December 02, 2008 (Suggest removal)

My problem with the Vrbata sitting is that while he hasn’t been great, he has shown hustle.  Same as Arty.  I think that the big 3 should be shown the press box to wake them up.

As far as the lines go, I’m not to happy with them.  To this day I am completely baffled at how you have a line which was as good if not better than anything we have had this year (Recchi-Jusi-Arty) and yet we do not play them.  That line needs to permanently be our #3 line and they can tweak the rest.  -

Por (Billy Charlebois) on December 02, 2008 (Suggest removal)

If you’re going to sit someone, sit a player that deserves to sit, sit a player that will show the rest of the players exactly whose running the show, sit either Lecavalier or St Louis. Granted, they are numbers one and two in scoring, but the effort put forth by these guys isn’t worh 15 million a year. They’re supposed to be the “go to” guys, they’re supposed to be the team leaders. They float and they cherry pick. They don’t play a team game. Typiquement canadienne-française des joueurs de hockey

Por (dale) on December 02, 2008 (Suggest removal)

I think Jason & Louis points are right on. Hockey monkey owners and why not leave Arty & Reechi alone, I guess the monkeies & maybe even Tocchet failed chemistry.