Vegas has demonstrated that you can improve without resorting to bottoming out. So has Boston.
Craig Conroy is in a very unique position where he has a bunch of very valuable assets in the 7 upcoming UFAs. He can turn those into picks and prospects and then bundle those up for some talented younger players who can play at a high level in a year or two.
I don't think they are in a position to burn everything to the ground. As others have mentioned they still have too many good players for that, but they can really reshape the group they have. Next season is probably going to be a stretch to even come close to the playoffs if they move Lindholm, Backlund, Toffoli, and Hanifin (I'd like to see them keep Kylington, Tanev, and Zadorov), but guys like Dube, Pelletier, Coronato, and Kylington are going to have a great development season and the team will have cap space and draft capital.
The scouts need to find some players, even if they aren't getting top 5 picks.
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