And, when you’ve heard the same voice your entire career, an unorthodox approach might just be all you need.

On the outside looking in, I think it is easy to jump to the conclusion that a player sitting in the box just leaves them with time to think about what they’ve done without suffering any real humiliation. However, I would argue that these are guys who have dedicated their lives to becoming professional athletes…not allowing them to compete at all (and we can argue about whether or not recent lackluster performances count as “competitive edge”) I think sends a stronger message than shifting the player into a defensive role.

Another piece to this that I think is interesting is what temptation the coach might be forced to resist to make his point with a pro athlete if he did demote a top producer to a more defensive role, particularly as game situations change. For example, if Erat were moved to the 4th line and told he must work his way up, but then late in a game down a goal or two, he gets paired with Legwand and Santorelli because the coach needs production — and let’s face it, the coach wants to win more than he wants to teach lessons — would this not send a mixed message to the player?