I can't believe how quickly the wheels are falling off the bus. I knew there was little to no money for DL to make moves today, so I wasn't surprised at the outcome.
I had a hunch he would re-sign Zatkoff, so that wasn't a surprise to me. I think DL got a good pick up in getting Zatkoff back. Gilbert he tried to make a move for 2-3 years ago, so again not a big surprise.
I think these guys are insurance. If the kids can't do it out of camp, then they can turn to these guys. As someone posted earlier, these guys can be waived and sent down without fear of loss in the big scheme.
We are looking at the eventual outcome of bad trades and poor personnel decisions. Decisions that have cost the team picks and players for what has been short term gains - Sekera and Lucic are the prime examples.
I liked Lucic on the team and it was for the most part a natural fit, but at the same time last summer all of us knew the likelihood of DL being able to re-sign him was virtually impossible. Money was already tight a year ago and the Kopitar contract was on the horizon. In the long run this has turned out to be a disaster of a trade. Lucic cost the team a 1st, M Jones and C Miller. For what? 1 playoff win - a successful regular season?
Still want to know how DL missed out on Hamhuis. Yeah he's a LHD, but he's an upgrade on the 2nd pairing compared to what LA has or signed today. 2 years for $7.5M, LA had room for that contract.
The Brown "fiasco" is going to hang over the club for quite some time. The team handled this like **** and I'm glad Brownie didn't sugarcoat his feelings in the interview yesterday. Has his game slipped and am I like most others in being frustrated, hell yes. At the same time the org handled this and him horribly, he deserved better. Brown is gone in the expansion draft if not sooner. If sooner LA has to retain at least $2.5M.
this coming season may turn into a total **** show with the Brown fiasco hanging around. the D still has significant issues on paper and we truly won't know until we get 20 games into the season. the bottom six is still intact from last season, which isn't promising. we now have a hole yet again at the 1LW spot. Sutter remains which will likely stagnate development of the kids.
its going to be a long summer and a longer 2016-17 i feel
