I think trading the "top duo" for multiple first and prospects in a mini-rebuild on the fly is the way to go.
They've shown that they're not as vital to our success as we gave them credit for, mostly because they can't be the go-to guys we need them to be, and maybe that's on our flawed evaluation/interpretation of them. Meanwhile much of the supporting cast has done a great job of showing that they can elevate, which is highly encouraging.
Monahan is a 1B/2A but won't be your bonafide #1, Gaudreau could complement a high end play-driving center or elite scorer very well, but won't be the guy to stir the drink in a high stakes situation where there is ample physicality.
They will both do very well with a change of scenery I'm sure, but the experiment here has run its course. It's over ripe now and the hints of magic just aren't there any more and didn't manifest how we had anticipated.
If we acquire a heap of young talent, Lindholm, Hanifin, Tkachuk, Mangiapane, Dube, Bennett, Andersson and Valimaki are all young enough that they can grow with the new core pieces that we bring in via those trades. And that supporting cast with a couple savvy free agent signings could keep us competitive and viable enough to tie us over until when the young talent can step into their roles.
We rolled the dice in 2013 and it didn't come up what we were hoping. We've got to not delude ourselves now after several kicks at the can with these specific top players and call a spade a spade and accept that it's the right time to roll the dice again to capitalize on the futures of Rasmus, Dillon, and Juuso here rather than wait on something that probably won't happen with this specific group.
Ottawa will have their #### together over there before we know it, and they did a full tear down, which isn't what we would even need to do. We can put hope back on the menu here in short order with decisive action.
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