Quote:
Originally Posted by Itse
While Treliving has generally done great work, I'm going to be a bit of a wet blanket here.
Fixing goaltending was the biggest question before the season, and Smith and Lack both come with pretty big question marks.
I'm not saying it can't work out, but if our season goes down the toilet because of goaltending, it won't be a surprise either. On paper that doesn't look that great to me.
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Yeah goaltending is going to remain a question mark until it plays out and while I'm optimistic things may be better I also wouldn't be surprised if these guys aren't an upgrade on Elliott/Johnson. I don't think we ever have to worry about goaltending being as bad as the 2015/16 season as that was a historically bad year for any organization in the NHL. The defense definitely looks better regardless of what the bottom pairing looks like as Hamonic is a massive upgrade on Wideman who started last season at the 4th defenseman. The forward group is largely unchanged but the hope is that Monahan and Gaudreau have adjusted to the new coach/system and won't take 40 games to get going like last season.
I will give Treliving an A+ for effort here as he has worked harder than any GM over the past few weeks and has addressed the goaltending situation and 4th defender holes with what were the best opportunities presented to him in his eyes. If I was to grade the actual moves maybe a B because of Hamonic as I view the goaltenders as kind of lateral moves at present time. Getting Foo, Murray without giving up assets is a nice bonus as well.