I think were at the very early stages still. Bringing in Tavares when we did wasn't perfect timing at all but those players, at that age at UFA, being from T.O, playing the most important position on the ice, is just not gonna happen again. It's also unfortunate that the group of forwards is developed ahead of the d-corps. Ideally you'd have a solid, more advanced, older d-corps to bring the 3 young kids into but that's no ones fault, it's just the way the drafts went.
Everyone is so fast to judge the team when the 3 key players to the core haven't even played one season out of their ELCs and have so much more to grow just blame it all on them and the GM.
This team has so much more developing to do and it's gonna take a bit more time but it will come. We don't have a single contract on the team that is an anchor or can't be moved anymore since Zaitsev and Marleau got moved. Our biggest issue this past season to me was depth scoring down the line-up as it completely dried up when we needed it after we had injuries. If we can find ways to add to our depth I think we're in a great position going forward.
It's interesting, I was watching the Russian Five documentary last night and it's funny how basically all good teams get painted with the same brush every.single.time. Yzerman and the Russians were too soft, didn't have what it takes to win. Yzerman was 30! Guess what happened after a handful of seasons? How about the Last Dance documentary (The MJ/Chicago Bulls), how many times did they have to take swings and hear from the same damn voices that they were talented but didn't have what it takes? What happened after a handful of seasons once they got older? What about Ovechkin and the Capitals after years and years?
Maybe hockey fans get too caught up in the Chicago/Pens championships.
To me, having the big deals "age" a bit and take up a lower % of the cap was gonna make this all work out a lot better. Now with the pandemic, the cap not rising presents the biggest hurdle to Dubas and Co.
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