meant Byram, not Makar.... was a horrible deal considering they never even re-signed Duchene, and even if they did.
Yeah but by the time they could have extended Duchene, it was not worth it anymore as the owner had already decided to go full rebuild. We were not sure of the rebuild amplitude but looks Melnyk wanted to do 100% as NONE of the players from the 2017 run was still there after 2019-20
The trade could have turned out good/fine IF the team didn't fell apart. They drafted 28th OA the season before so even if they didn't make the final four again but just the playoffs, that pick wouldn't have been anywhere near a 4th OA pick. Turris wanted 6.0 x 7 years (IIRC), Ottawa rightfully didn't want to commit to that so they decided to trade him before he turned UFA. Getting Duchene was a clear upgrade. Bowers was the 28th OA pick from 2017 but one of the most underwhelming Sens pick in a while, not a very good piece IMO. And a 3rd round pick is just a 3rd. So in theory, the cost to upgrade Turris to a 2 years younger Duchene wasn't going to be that costly. They had one job : make the playoffs but they failed.
Like I said, Dorion make moves that often end up blowing up in his face. Turris to Duchene was a nice upgrade offensively, but (although limited by internal budget), the team lost Methot that season, Karlsson was coming off a surgery, MacArthur was done after his concussion issues. Ryan, Phaneuf, Anderson, Brassard further declined due to age/injuries. Nothing productive was done to offset any of that
Absolutely it was. And yet they traded him for a loss. He was a bad acquisition then and even still after they recouped some value.
When they say the world has gone super soft, this looks like a perfect example. I didn't realize that factual counter-arguments could be seen as "condescending". It's kinda perplexing to be honest.
