[Fan in Exile]

Saying that Feaster recognized that "the team as it was built at the time, was on the decline, and an organizatinal shift of focus on the draft and getting younger was needed" does not equate to alleging a "clandestine rebuild"(although saying it began behind the curtains does).

The point is that Feaster strengthened our prospect pool considerably in the two drafts that preceded the decision to give up on trying to win and blowing the core up, which gives us a leg up on starting from scratch.

Recognition that a team's core is on the decline and there is a need to focus on the draft and get younger is something any sound management team does. The Sharks are a great example. Rather than trade the whole core who wasn't getting it done, they replaced an aging Nabakov with the much younger Niemi, developed Couture, drafted Hertl, and moved out pieces like Douglas Murray for picks.