I think the big difference in depth this year is the regression of Backlund and Frolik. When the 3M line turns from one of the best lines in hockey to a crappy line, it has a huge impact. They used to shut down Crosby, Bergeron, etc. Now they are barely average. This makes it harder for all lines to score.
The scary thing is that the salary cap has come to a point that big trades and salary dumps are hard to pull off. The rebuild will be harder to pull off.
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