Lack of Vision
Maybe the most disheartening of all the metrics was that Ducks fans ratings in the “Vision” category put them 24th. Believe it or not fans of Calgary (just traded Dougie Hamilton), Dallas (a two-man team), Carolina (in its umpteenth rebuild), Arizona (perpetually awful), and Los Angeles (rudderless) all have more faith in their teams vision, than Ducks Nation has in its own management’s vision. That is unbelievable.
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This goes back to Murray’s disconnect mentioned earlier. Visionaries don’t lay out a plan, publicly, and follow it up by doing the opposite. For example, imagine if the CEO of a manufacturing company came out in an interview and said: “we need to upgrade our facilities.” Then a month later, the company buys a factory built in 1955. Shareholders ask “what about the upgrades you talked about?”
Bob Murray has done the same with this hockey team. Fans have good reason to doubt the team has any vision whatsoever. Further, he called out the team’s veteran core for their lack of leadership in another interview. Then the organizational leadership he shows is all double speak.
I like Murray. He’s has gotten more out of fewer resources than almost any other general manager. This overall lack of confidence by his own fan base should serve as a wake-up call.
I don’t believe there is any problem here that can’t be fixed. Murray doesn’t have to make huge trades or sign a big fish, for the sake of doing so, to get back in the fans good graces. He does, however, need to be more transparent and follow through with what he says his goals are.
You can read the full rankings in The Athletic (by subscription).