Quote:
Originally Posted by Hot_Flatus
Do you really need to "tank" in order to alter the trajectory of this team if it is determined that the current group can't get it done? You can certainly ship out the handful of high demand players (Lindholm, Backlund, Hanifin, Tanev), who are on good deals with dwindling term for pretty handsome returns without absolutely gutting the roster and operating as a doormat for the next handful of seasons.
Based on the existing NHL talent on the roster and prospects in the system, this path would likely not be overly long or painful given the ability to leverage newfound cap room as well. The biggest question would be who the franchise views as it's GM to take this on, and I'm not sold the existing one deserves more running room to do it again.
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Lindholm @ 50% retained: 1st, 2nd, top-3 organizational prospect
Hanifin @ 50%: 1st, 3rd, top-7 prospect
Toffoli: 2nd, 4th, prospect
Tanev: 3rd, prospect
Backlund: 2nd, 3rd, prospect
Total: Two 1sts, three 2nds, two 3rds, 4th, three prospects.
Huberdeau-Kadri-Dube
Coleman-?-Mangiapane
Pelletier-Zary-?
Lucic-Lewis-Ritchie
Weegar-Andersson
Zadorov-Gilbert
?-Stone
A whole lot of yuck in the short term. But sign Coronato, add a couple top-3 picks, along with one or two studs in the later rounds over the next 3-4 drafts, and yeah, it starts to improve in a hurry.
Almost as though patience was a virtue.