Now that my technical issues have been remedied, and TMM is back up at full speed, it’s time to get back to substantive issues pertaining to
hockey and the Blue Jackets. Two events have conspired to make this a timely return — Aaron Portzline’s post on Puck-Rakers this morning, and the scheduled fan protest for this Saturday. Ever looking for fertile fields of analysis, these represent a virtual mother lode for me, so let’s dig in.
I want to start with the Portzline piece, because it really encapsulates a lot of the things that are going through everyone’s mind. As anyone who follows me is aware, I have not historically been a big fan of the Dispatch coverage (though I thought Tom Reed was a real loss to the paper) and have serious issues with some of the things they do, but today’s piece provides a solid foundation for discussion.
Let’s start off with where I part company with Portzline’s views. First, he is a bit late to the game on this revelation, as this blog and others have been making similar stands for some time now. (For example, see Keeping Focus , . . . And Then There Were Eight, Demolition Zone & Can You Hear Me Now? among others) His protestation that “To be clear, it is not the place of this blog – certainly this reporter – to call for anybody’s head” is just a tad ingenuous, as there was no such reticence displayed when it came to overtly campaigning for the hiring of Kevin Dineen, the signing of Sheldon Souray and similar moves. So, this is really fairly selective advocacy on his part.
Finally, I think he engages in a bit of Monday-morning quarterbacking to make the situation seem far more dire as the season began than it really was, and in the process provide Scott Arniel with a fairly large pass on what has transpired. It’s easy to sit among the ashes of the house and complain that the place was a fire-trap, forgetting that you spent a fortune to build it and everyone loved it before the fire. With the off-season acquisitions of Carter, Wisniewski and Martinek , the potential contributions of Johansen and Atkinson, the re-signing of Umberger and the anticipated maturations of Marc Methot and Grant Clitsome, this was an organization that — on paper — looked like it could do some serious damage. While the question marks in goal were there, I’ll take issue with his characterization that Arniel suspected that it would take years to clean up the mess. Quite simply, Arniel was ill-equipped to handle adversity, abandoned an offensive-minded strategy too early, and mismanaged the talent he did have at his disposal.
Now, you could quibble and say that things have been worse, as at least this club, when healthy, has some tangible assets to either utilize or trade as part of the restructuring process. That has not, as a rule, been the case. However, from the perspectives of pure numbers and the negative gestalt of the Blue Jackets community, I’ll concur that things are at rock bottom.
The fundamental point of the piece, with which I concur, is that the core problems are structural — not just matters of underperforming players. I’m on record already as indicating that the nuclear option is not necessary at the player level, but that fundamental changes in the front office need to take place, and Portzline brings this to the fore. Structurally, the club is still paying the price for the Doug MacLean era — and this is not an idle dig at DMac. When you have an organization — any organization — that is so dominated by a single individual for such a long period of time, the transition can be horrendous. Moving from a structure built on a cult of personality to one premised on distinct roles & responsibilities is a tricky process, and — as we have all seen — is susceptible to missteps. In a bizarre way, the handling of this season is a microcosm of the issues that the front office has experienced since 2007. Coming into camp, it was known that a lot of new pieces were going to need to be integrated. Given that fact, why were 60+ players invited to camp, requiring weeks of winnowing and fragmentation, when only 25 or so had a realistic chance of making the squad? There was little real time to coalesce as a team — an issue that was only exacerbated by the injuries to Carter, Martinek, Huselius & Dekanich, as well as the Wisniewski suspension. In a similar way, everyone seemed to minimize the need for serious experience at multiple levels of the organization — and we are presently paying the price, as Portzline properly notes.
I also concur with Portzline (and have previously mentioned) that Craig Patrick is a key cog in this whole enterprise. There has been too much silence concerning Patrick and his role, which leads me to believe that more is going on behind the scenes than is being made public. While Patrick may not want a long-term role with the organization, he is certainly the guy to steer a GM transition and the insertion of a senior hockey role above the GM on a permanent basis. This does not necessarily involve replacing Priest, whose primary role is on the business side of things, and handles that side well. He’ll be the first one to tell you that he’s not a “hockey guy”, which again supports the theory that the issue is structural. Bring in that “hockey guy”, whether it’s Patrick or somebody else, to work at a peer level with Priest.
So, Portzline and I agree that these fundamental changes need to happen — and happen sooner than later. It is here where much of the core discontent arises (hence the call for the protest), and it involves issues of both timing and communication. This is professional sports, not college football, and that involves some necessary evils in implementing change. For a hockey club to fundamentally change its character, you hire & fire coaches, GM’s and related personnel, and make changes on the ice via trade, draft or free agency. That’s it in a nutshell. Dealing with the off-ice personnel first, the urgency of a Howson dismissal depends largely on a) who is really calling the shots right now, and b) what the plan is for the trade deadline. As I’ve noted in my prior articles, Howson’s rather sudden 180 degree flip on the Arniel firing was grossly out of character, and could be viewed as a strong signal that Patrick and ownership are pulling the strings from behind the curtain. If that is so, then the urgency to move Howson is not so dire. Let Patrick guide Howson through the trade deadline, then bring somebody in to prepare for the draft and free agency. Similarly, if the plan is to simply moves the impending free agents now, and wait until June to start the major dealing, then the urgency also diminishes. Why bring in a relief pitcher to intentionally walk a guy? The guy you’re replacing has already shown he can miss the plate . . .
In terms of the players, change can’t come in isolation. The draft and free agency come at specific times, and their very structure dictates what you can do. On the trade front, you need trading partners, who have compatible needs at the right time. Sure, in my view the organization has handicapped itself by underutilizing some of the younger assets, but for the type of fundamental changes that are necessary, you need time . . . and more than a little luck.
Behind this, of course, is the issue of communication. A huge part of the fan frustration right now is the perceived inaction on the part of the organization. Few will seriously condemn an organization for having plans blow up — this is pro sports, and that stuff happens all the time. Meaningful change happens over the course of years and decades, not weeks. Fans don’t like to hear that, particularly fans who are used to the three-year recycle of college athletes. I watched awful 49er and Giants teams for years before they found success. The S.J. Sharks were pathetic in their early years, and still have the same number of Stanley Cups as the Blue Jackets. However, much of that fan dismay can be allayed by properly communicating what is going on, and this is something the Blue Jackets struggle with.
As I’ve noted before, you’re never going to hear a public statement of “no confidence” before somebody gets fired. You’ll hear when they’re gone, not before. This is as it should be. These are big boys — they know when their head is on the block (and Howson has been looking and acting like he knows just that lately). Nobody should expect that a detailed rundown of the complete strategy should be thrown out there in a press conference. However, fans — and the hockey community at large — should be made aware that the organization is acutely aware of the situation, is exploring options, etc. It’s a little thing, and is ultimately relatively benign, but it can stave off a whole host of problems — such as the perception that the organization doesn’t care, is clueless or has other priorities. All of those inferences have been made, not just by the fan base, but by hockey commentators and analysts around the NHL. While the club has an admirable record and reputation for being able to preserve confidences, that trait is haunting them right now.
Which brings me to the protest, and I’m not going to spend a lot of time on this. Maybe it’s because I went through the protest era over “real” topics, like Vietnam, Watergate and Apartheid. Maybe it’s because I saw firsthand that the vast majority of protests involve a very small component of people who are passionate and knowledgeable about a cause, a larger contingent who are simply there to be seen, and others who just like stirring up trouble or skip work/school. (At least this protest is on Saturday) The point of protest is to call attention to something that you perceive is not getting attention. So, consistent with my note above on communication, I get why some might be interested in doing this.
My view, however, is that this is ultimately a futile act, and one that — on balance– will do more harm than good. Keep in mind that I’m a Day 1 Season Ticket Holder, Seat License Owner, etc. — for multiple lower bowl seats. So, just like the folks Michael Arace highlighted in his piece the other day, I have a lot of monetary skin in this game. However, I also know that the organization is acutely aware of the issues, and while I don’t have first hand knowledge of what is being considered, I think I know the players well enough to know that they are not simply ignoring things. Am I frustrated and angry? Sure, though probably more disappointed than angry. See, I understand that when I purchase tickets to a professional team, there are no guarantees. There are injuries, bad bounces, poor performances and other things that can conspire to deprive your team of victories. How do you think I feel about the 49ers choice to draft Alex Smith over Aaron Rogers?
If you are going to the protest, what is it precisely that you’re protesting? Losing? Underperforming players? Ownership inaction? If your answer is either of the first two, then stay home. If you are just a fan of winning, you’ll never be satisfied. You’ll jump on and off the fan bus from year to year (maybe game to game), but will ultimately be disappointed. Ditto for protesting underperforming players. Every team has them every year. The Cubs have been working on that streak for over a century. If it’s the third one, I can understand a little better, but I’d still stay home. Your presence outside Nationwide Arena is not going to alter the organization’s level of awareness, nor hasten the ultimate action. That’s simply a fact.
Looking around the Twitterverse today, the hockey world has already jumped on Portzline’s article and is using it to flog the franchise and the city. That’s part of what happens when you go through these times, and I get it. But why voluntarily exacerbate that impact by participating in a largely pointless act? Yes, as Portzline notes, it may never have been worse, but we don’t have to increase the level of stagnation and make the emergence more painful than necessary. As hard as it may be to believe, we will all get through this and there are better days ahead for the franchise. Teams pick themselves up from the scrap heap and accomplish things every year, and the Blue Jackets will be no different. Sure, it takes time, but it will happen. That’s not easily digested in a world of instant gratification, but it’s true nonetheless.
So, with apologies to Shakespeare for my title, and even though I concur that immediate change is necessary, I’ll be passing on the protest this Saturday, as I think it is more harmful than beneficial. Let’s see what the coming weeks hold. Stay tuned.
