Quote:
Originally Posted by Dajazz
How could a less talented team that was coached by Hartley always come back? Always.
This is coaching to Corsi and some depth issues. Fire GG in to the sun and trade for top 6/9 skill and that's it.
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I think a new coaching staff that can actually instill confidence in the team, make good in-game and game-to-game adjustments, coach a creative PP, and improve goaltenders rather than cause them to regress would go a long way. Add a 1st line RW, re-engineer the 2nd line with Janko between Tkachuk and Bennett, properly slot Ferland on the 3rd line with Backlund and Frolik (he adds jam and some shooting prowess to that line to replace some of what Tkachuk gives them now, Backlund helps to get the best out of Ferland), and create a 4th line of speedy, hungry, inexpensive youngsters like Lazar, Dube and Foo to wear down the opposition (you could even add Mangiapane to that line for a bit of puck handling skill and scoring). You probably have to give up one of Hamonic or Stone, so you will need Andersson to step up to be your 3rd pair RD.
Of course, the question is who you can get for your 1st line RW. I would trade Hamonic or Michael Stone (you would probably have to add Klimchuk or Poirier to the latter and retain some salary) for a mid-round 1st, flip that pick, the Panthers' 4th round pick, Phillips, and Kylington to Ottawa for the rights to Mark Stone (the Sens don't have the budget to re-sign him if they are re-signing Ceci and saving space for Karlsson), and sign him for 5 years/35M. If Valimaki looks ready to take the next step in training camp, I would put him on the 2nd pair and bump Brodie down to the 3rd pair with PP time (to spread out the inexperience a bit), keeping Kulak as the 7th D. Buy out Brouwer, sign Janko to a 2.5M bridge deal, overspend a bit to get a top-notch UFA backup or platoon goaltender like Raanta or Dell for 2-3 years (to backup Smith 2018-19 but possibly platooning with Parsons by 2019-20), and you are golden.
Gaudreau-Monahan-Stone
Tkachuk-Janko-Bennett
Ferland-Backlund-Frolik
Mangiapane/Lazar-Dube-Foo
Gio-Hamilton
Valimaki/Brodie-Hamonic/Stone
Brodie/Kulak-Andersson
Smith
Raanta/Dell