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Originally Posted by Macho0978
2018-19 the Sharks had a .616 point percent and lost in the 3rd round of the playoffs. The next 3 years they did not bottom out but each year key core players were not re-signed. Burns and Karlsson were a bit tricky to move as they were older and very higher priced. It took a bit longer to move them out, but they showed a youth movement 1 year after falling down the standings. Can't really blame an owner for holding on to some key core players until it was certain they weren't going to make it. That team had long term success with some guys that had been there most of the time. Joe Thornton has finally retired, but Pavelski is still a key contributor to a team that might be in the Finals here in a week.
Out of the 5 years since they were a good team, they have added Celebrini and Smith in the last 2 so they definitely didn't drag their feet on the rebuild for very long after their run at the top was over.
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That's the point, though. Flames aren't dragging their feet on the rebuild, they're slowly falling into it. Last year, they canned Sutter, Treleving moved on, they hired a new, more positive coaching regime and they replaced a 30 goal scorer for a 30 goal scorer. They wanted to remain competitive, but the team's early results showed them (and the expiring UFAs) that they weren't going to win with that roster and they shifted to a "retool" philosophy.
This next year might push them into a full rebuild, just like 2021/22 in San Jose, when the team still sucks and if the rest of the leadership group demands out rather than wait for the retool. Our Smith/Celebrini comes in 2026 and 2027 if we end up on this path.