Quote:
Originally Posted by Red
He hasn't made a meaningful move at forward, he did get Hamilton and then Hanifin/Lids. But these guys are not top players ,they are just average. Neal and Brouwer were not top players either.
We knew after the Colorado series that this top line needed to be changed. 2 offseasons later it's still the same.
But more to the point, he was in on these big name players, some that would help this team immensely, but delivered on 0.
His biggest move is Markstom. But that's after a few failed attempts to bring a starting G. Now we will have a top G on a rebuilding team. Makes no sense.
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Agree almost completely. After last seasons rubbing out and the previous seasons loss to Colorado, it was clear bigger, faster players were needed. He’s epically failed in that regard to not realize that, or surround himself with people who would advise him of that. I don’t know why they’d go with their current core where Gaudreau and Monahan specifically are perfect second line players in creating their own space and finishing).
Nobody probably predicted this type of season though, and the light at the end of the tunnel is a good goaltender. In a rebuilding team the tradition of building from the goaltender out is probably still a good idea.
I also believe Burke had a part in this. He was at the time with the Leafs, for pushing the rebuild to be faster at the time. Having that character as your President means he was likely encouraged from going full rebuild but that was about three seasons back, and is mostly a side note. This team has no choice now because the high end skill is bare. Perhaps Hall can be had cheaper this off season but I don’t think he’ll come cheap to replace the guys (Gaudreau and Monahan) going out the door.
It’s really interesting how this board has changed opinion from a month ago. I preached this wasn’t a good team and guys like Backlund were overpaid. The past month has shown this team needs a strip down.