They still have a strong core to build around, but the problem going forward is that they have already shed all of the weak contracts - at this point, they are going to have to start moving good players (as they attempted to do with Dadonov). And they are going to lose Reilly Smith.
The next contracts that they can look to move would be Karlsson and Lehner (and maybe Dadonov again). But moving any of them is going to weaken the team.
And even if they move Lehner, they can't afford to bring back a top goalie. They either run with Lehner and Brossoit and shred the forward group, or they run with Broissoit and Thompson.
Eichel, Stone, Pacioretty, Pietrangelo, Martinez, Theodore is a pretty good core. But it isn't that good that they can get away with a totally depleted support cast.
They are going to have to sit and watch this group grow old, with no ability to build a team around them. And they have little in the way of prospects or picks upcoming.
They are the San Jose Sharks, waiting to happen.
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