I’ve been thinking a lot about Dave Hakstol the past few days. This sounds crazy, but bear with me (yes, it’s still probably a little crazy).
Many of the moments that defined Hakstol were his lineup decisions. Shayne Gostisbehere, Travis Konecny, and Oskar Lindblom became press box regulars while the team continued to underperform. As fans grew frustrated watching much-hyped young players sit, their response was often, “if you want to send a message, a vet would be a more effective scapegoat.”
Now, I think fans really wanted to be spared from watching Chris VandeVelde or some other forgettable fourth liner trapped in his own zone for 14 minutes the next night.