Quote:
Originally Posted by fleury
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.
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Ya, some guys on here spend just about every waking hour defending players and coaches/GM so it's hard for them to admit to being mistaken. I have seen a shift though, some of the "always sunny here" posters are coming out with sharp criticism. It's probably because as you said, noone saw THIS. This team was supposed to be battling with the Leafs for top place. They look worse than Ottawa, except for Markstrom's steals. It's indefensible at this point.
The expansion draft protection list probably looks a lot different that it did a month ago for all of us.