5 years is a long time, thats how many years we have left of mack’s contract and likely another 3 more years of prime. Even if we draft with Ottawa’s pick, if its high enough that player can contribute in a year or immediately if its kappo. we use the cap for other help in the mean time.
If the Ottawa pick lands us Hughes or a superstarlet that can be a difference maker as a sophomore, and provide a spark as a rookie, that'd be amazing even after MacK came off his dream-deal...but we'll only have 3 more seasons before MacK gets a 100%+ raise, at the end of that pick's rookie season.
Not to mention that between Ottawa refusing to roll over, and the lottery gods not being our best friends ever since they granted us MacK; I dunno how likely getting a top 3 pick from the Sens even is. I was skeptical of it last season, and the way they've started has only reinforced my doubts. Which is why the possibility of hitting the jackpot with that pick, wouldn't stop me from pulling the trigger if we could get a longterm solution that opened our window now.
Mind you I'm not saying we should rush into anything asap just because we could open our window this year with a Drai / Trochek / Zibby. Just that we should be saving up our assets to make that kind of blockbuster addition over the next year & a half, rather than dithering our surplus away on rentals that don't really move the needle like Hayes.
And given the way Joe does big trades, he needs to be having opening discussions
now to get a blockbuster done before the 2019-2020 TDL