[Hackey]

Originally Posted by bubbsy

The age is one thing but the contracts are another thing.

In 2 seasons, the only forwards currently under contract are (monahan, Lindholm, backlund, lucic). Will they invest long term to keep gaudreau and/or tkachuk?

I don't know what the d core looks like 2 years from now? Tanev looks great now, hopefully he can keep that up, but is it a sure thing to assume any of Andersson, Hanafin, or valimaki evolve into top pairing guys? Who knows....

So, at this point I don't know what the core top end talent will be, heck by this offseason, where gaudreau and tkachuk head into their ufa/rfa contract years, respectively.

If you look at the roster in terms of contracts and the age of players, this team is closer to being a consistent lottery team than it is a contender. The team is trending down not up.