Just listened to the Francis and Steinberg debrief of the interview. As usual, took them 45 minutes to maybe say 5 minutes worth of stuff.
I agree with everyone, including them, that what is far more important is the team’s actions. And they both talked about confidence that the team will ultimately “lean in” on to the bad results. But then Francis was clear that he thinks that of Kadri, Coleman and Andersson, only Andersson gets traded.
There are only so many levers Conroy can pull. Trading Andersson is automatic and even if they wanted to re-sign him, I assume his interest is gone. IF that is the only move they make, that’s a problem.
Francis even said he’d have no problem if the team decides to go for it next year. If so, what is he even suggesting they do? Trade Rasmus, make your picks and rebuild over?
I go a little brain dead listening to those guys sometimes. For the most part, fans don’t want a “one year face plant”. They want the club to take their medicine, make some sacrifices in the shorter term (not just at the trade deadline this season) and totally build around a core of players who almost entirely aren’t even drafted yet.
Steinberg stated he “knows for a fact” there are intense debates going on at the organization about the future direction. The required approach just doesn’t seem debatable to me.
Kadri - you have been a great player and a surprisingly great signing. Thank you. And we really appreciate the fact that you love the city and want to play here. It’s not an easy decision but this team needs to focus on acquiring young talent that we can build around for the future and we have decided to trade you.
The club doesn’t need to announce this. It’s just what needs to happen is all.
Fingers crossed.
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