As mentioned in the other thread, MacDonald was likely offered some kind of a contract by the Flames but they couldn't come to an agreement. If there was no talk of a contract he likely would have been released earlier.
About the roster, well, they really kept the gang together.
Neal -> Lucic, Smith -> Talbot, Hathaway -> Rieder. Hopefully Lucic is an upgrade and Talbot is not a downgrade. Rieder seems like a lateral move, which is perfectly fine.
I expect plenty of line shuffling again to start the season, there's so many different ways you could organize those forwards.
Kylington, Andersson and Hanifin all being a year older should improve our defense, even if Gio takes a step back.
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