People always think in such absolutes. "The Leafs signed Marleau so they must be going for it" "We are years away"
I'm going to suggest that the truth is somewhere in between. Both yet neither.
There is a process to our rebuild, I think we can all agree on that. This team is not a finished product, I think we can all agree on that. Management probably does not think that this is a Cup roster but they have also been around long enough to know anything can happen in the playoffs.
Let's take a guy like Marleau for example. He's a good player and more importantly a great pro and a good role model. This is a two birds with one stone move. He insulates the kids, he is a positive influence, and he helps keep this a winning environment. If we win nothing with him he will still pay dividends for years to come, if we go on a playoff tear he will be a guy we can lean on.
Our roster is a blend of old and new. Why not just ice 20 kids and a crap goalie and keep getting high picks? Well they have already tasted the playoffs and know what it is to have playoff hockey in our market. A standard of achievement has been set that they will pass on to the next wave that comes along. Why did we keep Bozak and JVR? Because if the kids struggle we can lean on them.
We are going to keep drafting and developing and tweaking until we are in a place where they think they have the bulk of the foundation in place. Once the farm is stocked and a roster that looks like it could be a contender is set we may see some trading of futures.
Panicking about a 5 or 7 or even 10 game streak is pointless because this is part of the process. Obviously our guys know what the holes are, what the problems are while getting a good sense of what and who everyone is. In two years if we are hoisting a cup will a losing streak this year matter? Nope, it will be forgotten.
Management knows this team is flawed and they may think some of the solutions are already in the system but need more grooming. Why make a knee jerk reaction to fix a problem that may already have it's solution.
The kids need time, experience and adversity to grow as players and as people. A lot of the pieces are in place but are also not yet fully developed. We can look at the blossoming of Rielly and Kadri, how many players need the time to follow their path? Almost everyone under 25.
No need to panic, no need fret. Enjoy this year and hope they make some noise in the playoffs all the while knowing the best is yet to come. We're in good hands but these things take time.