I agree that LA probably shot themselves in the foot during this rebuild. They look like a mediocre team. Pete is right with Byfield and Clarke, but then Kopitar is turning 37 and Doughty is 34, so when they are gone will Byfield and Clarke in their prime be better than what they have right now between the 4 of them? Probably not, as Kopitar and Doughty are still playing at a very high level.
Danault being out certainly has hurt them too, but this is still a mediocre team that they built. Unless Dubois suddenly starts to play like he cares, this will end up being a bubble-team more years than not. They will have to out-work and out-play teams to win. Definitely a lot of similarities with the Flames in thinking that they should be making 'win now' moves when staying the course was probably the right call instead.
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