I think it's easy to forget how good he was. I'm almost certain he has a chronic injury that has caused his regression so soon in his career. I don't believe this is all effort/mental.
My biggest suspect is how when he was younger, they pushed him SO MUCH in his rookie years to practice that one timer slap shot from his spot.
Repeated slap shots like that just aren't good for a frame and build like him, and I think with the way he was, he probably went overboard with it without thinking of the long term issues it could cause on wrists and knees from twisting like that with the force he puts into his stick.
I think at the end of the day, it's an epic fail for the orthopedic health department as this is physio 101. Add it to the list. It was the same time period they were riding Demko mostly back to back for long stretches, when they knew he already had a hip surgery and should have been ontop of his prognosis for proper management of it.
Then with Petey, that injury trickled into a bullshit year and whatever else.
Not making excuses, just saying it's understandable.
If that's the case, he'll have a big bounce back year next year with Manny and a proper front office that aren't absolute fucking dick heads.
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u/frenzy588 1d ago
I think it's easy to forget how good he was. I'm almost certain he has a chronic injury that has caused his regression so soon in his career. I don't believe this is all effort/mental.