Champ Kind said:
I get your point, but haven't you argued in the past that using hearsay, conjecture and subjective assessments to form an opinion is fraught with risk?
I don't know if I've ever said that exactly but if I did it's entirely irrelevant to what I'm saying here. Using Sutter or MacTavish's own words is not hearsay. Saying that Penner has only managed 5 goals this season is not conjecture. Whether or not he's being scratched is not a subjective assessment.
Those are stats, quotes from his coach and decisions being made by his coach. Those are absolutely ok as the basis of an argument.
Champ Kind said:
Don't you think it's remotely possible the coaches' comments (not sure which LA coach made them or what they said) were taken out of context or intended as motivation?
This is probably a better question to ask after you know what is going on. Is it possible they were taken out of context? No. They're pretty clear. Were they intended as motivation? I'm sure they were. Sutter is probably intending to motivate Penner to stop playing like crap.
Again, this isn't an isolated incident with Penner and it's not just words. Other coaches have said similar things about Penner, he played his way out of Edmonton and Sutter isn't just urging him to get better with motivational words(and they're not that motivational) but he's actually putting Penner in the press box. There's not much wiggle room there.
Champ Kind said:
Didn't Wilson basically say the same thign about Kessel last year?
No. Wilson never basically said that Kessel had to work harder if he wanted to get back into the lineup because Kessel was never out of the lineup.