Oh, they can totally run it back with mostly the same roster with just a few losses, but looking at it from a big picture standpoint, a lot of the current core is aging. I think the goal for this current team, as imposed by ownership, is to keep improving for the present without sacrificing the future.
I don't know if we can expect there not to be a bit of a decline from several of the vets. Eberle and Schultz are turning 33. Schwartz, Larsson and Oleksiak 31. Gourde and Tanev 32.
Geekie, Sprong, and Donato combined for 45 goals, while on most nights, only two of the three actually dressed. That is a substantial amount of goal scoring heading to free agency that I think some folks on this forum are overlooking when they think ELCs or league minimum free agents can fill the holes without a significant dropoff. Those three scored a lot of very timely goals that contributed to a lot of wins for this team. I am of the same mindset as you and think Francis needs to bring back two of the three (I think Donato is the odd man out).
Daccord and Driedger are both fairly big gambles as back-ups imo. Either could be stellar, but both seem to suffer from confidence issues at the NHL level which makes them questionable options, and Grubauer has a history of missing time. If Francis wants to bring back Sprong and Geekie and bring in a proven back-up, the cap available for another upgrade would not be available. Does that team on paper outperform this years team? Is the goal not to try to improve?
I agree that there is some flexibility with options, but there is not a lot of flexibility, and a single upgrade anywhere on the roster without money going out is going to push the cap to the ceiling and cut into the team depth, which was the strength of this team all season.
I guess it comes down to "what is the goal for the offseason and expectations for next season?".
