Pat Reusse of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune wrote a column about....brace yourself for this...how Don Lucia sucks.
And that's the problem. When every hockey article you write is about how terrible Don Lucia is, even when you're writing about somebody else, people are going to stop listening. Or at least they should stop listening.
As far as Guentzel, there is evidence that suggests he was forced out. Guentzel withdrew his name from consideration for the St. John's because, as he told the the St. Cloud Times, "With my situation right now, for various family and financial reasons, it just wasn’t the right time." The whole "financial reasons" is what sticks out to me the most. I can't think of a financial reason for choosing to be unemployed over taking a job except for the rumor that Guentzel is still getting paid by Minnesota as part of being "forced out" and taking another job would cost him that.
So if he was forced out, why was he forced out? I don't agree with the premise that a change had to be made after Minnesota's disappointing season. But I do think that a disappointing season can expose some of the underlying tensions within a program, and I think that that tension got to the point where Don Lucia had to make a decision and somebody had to go. That shouldn't make Don Lucia a bad guy. He's the one that gets all the credit or all the blame. He's the one that faces constant pressure from fans. He's the one that gets ridiculous articles written about him by a columnist with an odd vendetta. So he should also have control over who is on his staff.
And that's the problem. When every hockey article you write is about how terrible Don Lucia is, even when you're writing about somebody else, people are going to stop listening. Or at least they should stop listening.
As far as Guentzel, there is evidence that suggests he was forced out. Guentzel withdrew his name from consideration for the St. John's because, as he told the the St. Cloud Times, "With my situation right now, for various family and financial reasons, it just wasn’t the right time." The whole "financial reasons" is what sticks out to me the most. I can't think of a financial reason for choosing to be unemployed over taking a job except for the rumor that Guentzel is still getting paid by Minnesota as part of being "forced out" and taking another job would cost him that.
So if he was forced out, why was he forced out? I don't agree with the premise that a change had to be made after Minnesota's disappointing season. But I do think that a disappointing season can expose some of the underlying tensions within a program, and I think that that tension got to the point where Don Lucia had to make a decision and somebody had to go. That shouldn't make Don Lucia a bad guy. He's the one that gets all the credit or all the blame. He's the one that faces constant pressure from fans. He's the one that gets ridiculous articles written about him by a columnist with an odd vendetta. So he should also have control over who is on his staff.