During the Mike Sullivan era, it both rankled me to no end and served an incredible source of frustration that we wouldn’t employ anyone remotely resembling a genuine physical player.
The few heavyweights then-GM Jim Rutherford dared to import, forward Ryan Reaves and defensemen Jamie Oleksiak and Erik Gudbranson, were each shown the door in relatively short order, likely at our coach’s behest.
Reaves, in particular, couldn’t pass Sully’s muster, yet served as a physical, forechecking hammer for a Vegas squad that went to the Stanley Cup Final.