I am more than willing to see through this rebuild with Bob one more time. Things were always going to get worse before they got better, I don't know what people expected.
The injuries have really thrown a wrench into making progress this season. What we saw earlier this year vs now is separated by when the injuries started hitting, and we are not close to deep enough to take those blows and keep going effectively.
One thing I do hope, and last week's rumor or whatever helps, is that Bob leverages our position to add talent around the edges or at least lottery ticket picks.
I agree with this. This year was to figure out what we have (and don't). The hope was that the ducks could re-tool. But the truth is that was going to be with players who were drafted late in the first round or lower - not where teams typically find elite talent. There was hope that Steel, Terry, Comtois and others would achieve above the draft level - so far they have not shown that ability/ceiling (though I think Steel can still be a very good play maker).
In the salary cap era, unless you're very lucky with low draft picks, the only way to turnover a roster is through the draft and the burn-off of higher contract players. If the current players aren't yet good enough, the best thing is to get a high draft pick for the next 1-2 years and then sign an elite UFA or two to join the young core. The NY Rangers have done that with some success.
I'm ambivalent about Murray. I have been critical in the past, but in the current situation, I can't find a major fault in what he's done (maybe the Montour and Sprong trades, but those were calculated risks that seemed ok at the time). He targeted Shattenkirk and Faulk but didn't overpay with bad contracts - good on him.
A lot will depend on how Zegras, Tracey, and this year's draft picks pan out. The truth is that the ducks don't have many trade chips, other than salary cap space. If they use that effectively, then I can't really criticize what he's done so far this year.
Murray has committed to stay through the expansion draft and continuity until then makes a lot of sense. Gaming that out takes a lot of planning and negotiations - having an old school GM is not the worst thing for that. That is also when the Getz, Perry and Kesler contracts will be mostly burned off and the team will have some flexibility. I think he will (and should) move on after the expansion and subsequent entry draft.
lol @ these ideas of ducks alum becoming the next GM
yeah lets replace a terrible GM with one who has zero experience. that'll work!
The only former duck who seems to be groomed for a higher position is Marchant. Not sure if he would be a GM, but he's been working the management side for several years.
