In looking at last summer, I think a few key decisions really burned the team:
Last summer, Having a chance to reinvent the bottom six, Adam chose to bring back Okposo, Girgensons, and Jost at a premium cost.
7M in total.
Stillman/Bryson made a around 3.2M total and played 54 games or so combined.
The handling of Levi is obviously a sore point here. Not having a veteran G we could spell UPL with down the stretch hurt.
And not adding a forward this summer was an obvious problem as well.
And the clifton/Johnson signings were underwhelming as well.
Overall, Adams has to be a ton better to move this team forward this summer.
Yes, great presser but KA himself has had a big hand in why they stink. He actually made a good decision to NOT add a vet goalie, but then it seemed the organization was intent on making Levi the starter and UPL the 3rd option. Sure Granato could be making those choices, but KA could've/should've sent Levi down like most rookie goalies in the history of the game.
KA shored up the D-corps depth with Clifton and Johnson. No they weren't great adds but they were WAY better than the depth before that. I give KA some slack only because he likely couldn't get a bigger/better vet to join the team. But then later, acquiring Byram just doesn't make sense, doesn't add what they were missing, makes the team EVEN younger. What? Why?
KA neglected the FW group, kept guys he should've cycled out, relied on other retreads to fill Quinn's spot, traded Mitts, etc.
He said the right things today, but he's still part of the problem. A good HC can make up the slack to a good degree, but the GM has to shift gears too, and get meaner tougher faster guys.