Because Richards and Chimera were so terrifying they were gamechangers last year. Just like opposing players were so scared of Beagle he clearly helped the team win games, rather than playing <10mins a game. The only person whose play Orpik seemed to affect this year was Holtby...
The current NHL is more about dogged determination matched with genuine skill and speed. I think losing Johansson and Schmidt in one off season, without adding any speed at all, will hurt us. I think we'll also miss Mojo's skill too - current projections leave almost all our skilled forwards in the top-6, and Vrana and Burakovsky aren't half the players Mojo is as things stand.
Let's hope Kuzy massively steps up his game this year - especially in terms of mental conditioning. If we end up paying $7.8m a year to a 59 point guy going forwards, the team would have little hope. And for the next year at least, if one of Burakovsky or Vrana are no-shows during the regular season you've got to wonder if the team even makes the playoffs without adding a significant piece. Losing the equivalent of 50 goals from your top-6 isn't insignificant at all.