The truth was that the flames put themselves into "win now" mode when they signed a 29-yo and a 31-yo to those high cost deals that will age poorly.
It didn't work out and now they have to decide whether it was the team construction or just bad luck. If it's team construction, tear it down. If you think it's bad luck, then you remain in win-now mode.
If they sell Lindholm or Backlund, they might as well sell Mangiapane, Huby and Kadri as well. What's the point of having aging stars if you're not in "win now" mode?
So they have two choices. They can either stick with it or they can cut bait and rebuild. That's a really hard decision and they should be struggling with it.
The last thing I want to see the flames do is a half-measure. Beyond trading Tanev and non-core players like Lewis and Lucic, either do nothing or tear it down.
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