CTB Makes a rare GPL appearance.
It may very well be time, at the end of this season for a new coach.
While most Rodent fans are loathe to admit this, Minnesota is the Notre Dame of college hockey. TV contract, phenomenal facilities, a huge campus in a large city are all advantages that other schools can't or won't offer because hockey is a second tier sport at most schools. This gives Lucia a distinct advantage in the recruiting game. Sure he can't get every great player, but based on the yearly rankings of his recruiting class there is no question that talent is not the issue.
An arguement can be made about all the early departures in recent years and they certainly hurt, but two points need to be made in regards to those departures: 1. The coach picked those recruits. 2. Why did some of them leave earlier than expected?
When Vanek came to the Gophers everyone knew that he would not stay the full four years, but he was surrounded by veterans who bled Maroon and Gold, they subscribed to the Herb Brooks idea that the M on the front was more important than the name on the back. A team can afford an early departure or two on occasion, when guys with names like Ballard, Martin, Leopold, Kowalska, Pohl, Taffe, Riddle etc.. are staying for three or four years. It seems to me that more recently the team is being built around players who are a question mark after one year and the coach is greatful if those players give him two. I think this creates a leadership vacuum, which hurts team cohesivness. You can have the greatest talent in the world if you don't play like a team you will not succeed. This team is becoming a jumping off point for players who aren't quite ready for the NHL but don't want to play Juiniors or Minor league hockey yet. Perhaps the recruiting strategy should involve recruiting more players who are maybe a little less talented, have great potential within the teams style of play and will stay for four years.
Other things to consider:
Most of the players who won those two titles were Woog recruits. The team has gotten progressivly worse with Lucia recruits.
Perhaps the health of the Coach hasn't been right for longer than anyone knows. Obviously and rightly this is a privacy issue, but if his health is not good it may be time to step down in his and his families best interest.
Gorg mentioned this on KFAN and I've been saying it for a while now. How many years in a row have the Gophers struggled now? How long has Guentzel been gone? There has to be a correlation between the two.
Woog had two years in a row finishing fifth or lower in the WCHA and was out the door, how may years does Lucia get?
Lastly Gorg also said, when Don leaves it wil be on his own terms, sounds like the KFAN kiss of death to me.
The bottom line is something is wrong. It is not the talent level, so it has to be some kind of behind the scenes issue. The last time these types of issues surfaced a coaching change breathed new life into the program.
I do not wish Lucia Ill and I know he is in a tough spot, but too much more of this and it will significantly affect recruiting. If that point is reached the program may never recover it's former prestige.
saying it, and even thinking it, but yeah. After the guaranteed non-sweep this weekend (due to tonight's result), I turned the corner. It's now a matter of proceeding down this new street. I'm afraid, and I don't like it. 
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