One thing that seems clear is that most of the brainpower in the NHL is with the agents. They just keep taking the old-school hockey dudes to the cleaners. They are cutthroat in using every possible avenue and platform to get the best deal for their clients -- media leaks, PR, manipulating emotional dimensions of fan bases and organizations, etc. It's all on the table.
GMs and organizations seem too often to rely on abstract concepts of loyalty, legacy, camaraderie, but those are no longer the primary currency in professional sports (if they ever were). This is my single biggest critique of Treliving. He keeps trying to operate in a world that no longer exists, and then appears totally rattled and personally wounded when people act contrary to his expectations. Hence all the leaks over the years of "we were right there..."; it's always someone else's actions scuttling a deal at the last minute. He fixes mistakes but doesn't seem to learn from them very well.
I wonder if we'll see more teams try to make Kent Hughes, Julian BriseBois-type appointments in the coming GM hiring cycles. Types that have a different orientation to team building, asset management, cultivating relationships, etc. that help them carve out competitive advantages. This team could use that kind of approach; in a small-market Canadian city that just doesn't have the cache to woo players to play or stay, you need to find other ways to tilt the balance in your favour. I'm no longer convinced this management group has the creativity to do so.
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