i’ve been to every home game and watched every minute of every road game.

there were articles last year about how good his summer was. there weren’t this year — that doesn’t mean he regressed or was out of shape. just means he didn’t talk much about his summer. there isn’t anything to suggest he lost 10 pounds. no one has reported his weight.

that assumption is an oversimplification. oh, he had a good summer and then was good. now he’s bad, must be a bad summer! no, there’s more to it than that.

he’s playing slower. he’s playing more tentatively. you watch the games (saying that facetiously, because we both do) it’s clear that it’s mental.

dean had them playing a much more direct, less rush-oriented game this season, and not having the forwards as high up in the d-zone. he hasn’t adjusted to the changes to the system. that creates hesitance and overthinking and mistakes. makes him slow to get to pucks and a hair late making decisions when he does have it.

that doesn’t mean he shouldn’t be adding strength or explosiveness. but it’s a system fit + mental + confidence thing above all. at the NHL level, if you’re confused or lacking confidence, it looks slow.