Mediocrity may not be the best word; "not quite bad enough" might be a better phrase.Mediocrity? They have the 7th best odds for Bedard currently
Canucks will probably field more calls on Kuzmenko strictly because more teams can afford him. But if both are traded, no doubt Horvat returns more imo. Kuzemenko will not be cheap though.
950K cap on pace for 37 goals. Not past his prime. What would be the cost of that? 1st minimum.
And that is a good description of Rutherford's post-Cup run in Carolina:
06-07: Missed playoffs, pick #11
07-08: Missed playoffs on last day, pick #14
08-09: Made a late run into the playoffs and a playoff run to conference finals.
09-10: 80 points, pick #7
10-11: Missed playoffs on the last day, pick #12
11-12: 82 points, pick #8 (traded for Jordan Staal)
12-13: 13th in the East in the shortened season, pick #5
13-14: 83 points, pick #7
Ron Francis was named GM in 2014.
Only made the playoffs once in those 8 years, but also never picked earlier in the draft than #5 because they were not quite bad enough. Rutherford never seemed willing to fully embrace a tank of a season.