We talk about the Ducks eleven game winless streak, what is wrong and how can they fix it?
Bob Heyrman: The ducks are currently winless over their last 11 games.. what do you think they need to do better to finally become victorious once again? What’s been their Achilles heel during this stretch?
Ciara Durant: The fact that you’re forcing me to choose one issue is just cruel. The Anaheim Ducks have a host of problems, and while I have been dubbed the “glass half full” girl over at Pucks of a Feather, I’m finding it hard to be positive. I, like many other fans, have come to terms with the fact that it is high time we “embrace the suck.”
As I said, there are too many issues to choose from. However, If I have to bring one to light, it would be their lackadaisical leadership. Our General Manager, Bob Murray, recently called out the team. They have become careless. Our defense isn’t gelling, our offense seems out of gas and uninspired, and poor John Gibson is being left out to dry. There is no clear communication on this team, and I believe it lies solely in the fact that their coach has lost control of his locker room.
I am not chalking all of the leadership issues up to Randy Carlyle. Trust me, I know better. Nevertheless, because he has lost control of his locker room, the Ducks skate onto the ice already looking like they’ve lost the game. I respect Ryan Getzlaf tremendously, but a good leader cannot play like that, regardless of the state of his team. This is by no means me saying he is not qualified to be captain because I genuinely believe that he is the most qualified. Still, if he walks around defeated, so will the rest of the team.
Someone, however, needs to step up and lead this team. I don’t care if they don’t have a patch stitched to their jersey. I don’t care if they don’t think they are qualified. Once someone does step up, the others will follow. The younger guys on the team are the future of this franchise, and if they can’t step up now when they are needed most, Bob Murray may need to start looking elsewhere.