A cohesive game plan.
Last season, this team was disjointed on many occasions. I think in hindsight, it's pretty evident why. I'm not here to bash the coaching staff again. But, things were not ever going to work, because the philosophy wasn't right for this team.
One thing we learned about Dean Evason is that he likes to let his assistants do a lot of the heavy lifting. I'm not sure how hands on (or off) he was in designing this team's overall game, but it sure seemed like the team wasted a lot of energy trying to play catch-up.
That's a sign of a poor game plan. One line would play a certain way. Another line would play a different way. Meanwhile, the defensive zone continued to be a mess, and the two sides of the puck rarely seemed connected.
I believe it's all of these things that led to Evason being relieved halfway through last season. More so than the team's on-ice record, there just weren't any real signs of improvement or progress being made.
Once Rick Bowness came aboard, the team quickly began defending better. Their record reflected that his style worked, right up until they ran out of gas and the offense dried up in the last few weeks of the season.
Now, Bones has been allowed to put together his own staff, and I do like the direction this team is taking behind the bench. Don Granato and Trent Vogelhuber should be excellent additions to the mix, both having proven capable of helping young players along (more on that later).
With a full summer to plan and implement Rick's style, I think the Blue Jackets will be much better prepared for this new season. Most important: they will have a method in place for preventing high danger shots. That has been an issue here for years (ever since the team hired Steve McCarthy).
Of course, none of that matters if our next point doesn't happen. Lets talk about a big key on the next slide.
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