Quote:
Originally Posted by Tinordi
...Good to great defencemen are available in the trade market however, and there's a theory in team building that a great defence can overcome lack of scoring and elite talent up front. Nashville being the preferred example.
Unfortunately, Treliving's gamble hasn't paid off. He's assembled a poor-man's version of Nashville's D, with roughly similar forward talent. And it's for that that I'm not a fan on the trade. I think the 1st rounder has a higher likelihood of being the asset that stimulates a step change. Think drafting Barzal or Ehlers or someone like that than having Hamonic.
But I don't hold it against Treliving. He's seen the writing on the wall. The rebuild is over, what you see is what you get with the talent levels on this team at forward. He had to go in with this group and try to push it over the top. It didn't work, but I don't blame him for trying. Too many fans promote play-it-safe management. If you have a window you need to go for it. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. Unfortunately we're on the latter half.
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It hasn't all come together YET, and this is what too many fans continue to overlook. Treliving's vision goes beyond just this season. We should not draw firm conclusions about the Hamonic trade until after another year or two because while the team appeared poised in the summer to make a run it was also clear that there remained work to be done over the next few seasons as well. It was never "either / or" with regards to improving the defense and forwards. It has always been "both / and."