I think it's hard to judge him by this season. They went for it all last season (since they had to) and that put them in a bad position going into the 'new' NHL. At the start of the season, most people thought they would be a middling team on the fringe of the playoffs and that's where they are right now. It's highlighted by the fact that they've lost 5 in a row (probably 6 pretty soon), but they're doing what they were expected to do by most people.
They should have a nice bit of room under the cap going into next year and some good young players already up (Steen, Stajan, Wellwood, Coliacovo) so the future looks decent.