Wow, I hoped this would happen, but I sure didn't expect it. No offense to Brouwer, but it was a bad fit with a player who was either declining or didn't care anymore. Take your pick. As others said, this should pave the way for a long-term Hanifin deal, and some cap relief, so along with not having Brouwer on the team anymore, this is the rare win-win-win move.
I'm impressed by Treliving's intestinal fortitude. Saw problems with this team and did just about everything a GM could do in a single off-season in the modern cap world to remake the roster and produce a better product on the ice. This move caps off an off-season that should make just about anyone who has been following this team happy. The only thing didn't didn't get a makeover was the goaltending, and that's probably because we have 3 relatively strong goalie prospects still working their way into the NHL.
Seriously, let's look at last year's roster compared to this year's projected roster.
2017/18
Gaudreau-Monahan-Ferland
Tkachuk-Backlund-Frolik
Bennett-Jankowski-Jagr/Hathaway
Versteeg/Lazar-Stajan-Brouwer
Glass
Giordano-Hamilton
Brodie-Hamonic
Kulak-Stone
Bartkowski
Smith
Lack/Rittich
Gillies
2018/19
Gaudreau-Monahan-Neal
Tkachuk-Backlund-Lindholm
Bennett-Ryan-Frolik
Lazar-Jankowski-Czarnik
Foo/Mangiapane/Klimchuk etc.
Giordano-Brodie
Hanifin-Hamonic
Kulak-Stone
?
Smith
Rittich/Gillies
That's a major shift in just a few calendar months. Kudos to Brad to making all the necessary moves to give this team a chance to compete.
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"You know, that's kinda why I came here, to show that I don't suck that much" ~ Devin Cooley, Professional Goaltender
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