If I'm Poile, I'm on the phone as soon as the season ends trying to flip Duchene, Arvidsson and Ellis to teams who might not have better options to protect. Take picks, even if they're not ideal, it's addition by subtraction. And they could still be great players in a different situation, but I think this season has shown that they don't fit with this group and Hynes direction of them (Ellis and Duchene, Arvy I think it more just damaged than out of place).
Then I go 4+4...
Forsberg, Johansen, Kunin, Trenin.
Josi, Ekholm, Fabbro, Carrier
Saros
I know that, when it comes to personalities, loyalties, the human side of things it isn't an easy sell. But logically, it's the difficult decision that needs to be made and if all these guys are professionals, they should understand the business side of things.
If they can't be traded, expose them and hope that it's motivation to clean up their game and find the necessary consistency. It's a tough spot for Poile, I'd hate to actually be in his shoes. It's also tough for us fans, if this offseason backfires, we could be stuck with a miserable Duchene and that contract for too many years.
Luckily, things look bright on the other side of this core.