I don't think it's negative, I think that's the sort of timeline that goes with what Bench is saying. Look at Seider and Zadina. They might make the NHL this year, but it's still going to be a couple of years before they become guys we expect to lean on. Whoever we draft at 4th this year is likely 3 years out from those sort of expectations. For whoever we draft in the next two drafts after this one, have a similar expectation for a timeline. These guys might be able to come up and be complementary pieces, but that's not what I get from Bench's post, or other posts that have been in a similar vein.
People are expecting Larkin/Bert/Mantha to be the complimentary pieces. It is going to take time for guys to be drafted, to develop, and to work their way up the lineup to displace them.
Five years will go by really fast.
well, the post I'm seeing is saying he's maybe a first line wing, which looks like it's saying he's a second liner right now. Bert is clearly not a first liner then. Larkin is good. They aren't going to get better in five years.
He's a safe, apparently reliable third pair D that we don't have to spend several million on. With the team we have, yeah, he's not that important. We just flat out need better players. If we had a better top4 ahead of him, he'd be invaluable.