Definitely have to wonder if they're not already thinking ahead about the wisdom of buyouts next summer, as unpalatable as it may be. So many cooked vets on terrible contracts with no market. If it's a long season--as it certainly looks to be--then they can't possibly shrug their shoulders and run the core back out yet again, right? Not like there's an easy shake-up to be made or else they would have done it in the off-season like they clearly wanted to. At this point a top six shake-up wouldn't (and won't) go far enough anyway.
Probably no use bundling assets to dump Mantha either. If anything maybe waive him to make room for Miroshnichenko. Add someone eager to go to work and make their mark. Any restructuring/punting may have to start with moving Jensen or TVR since both should at least have an actual trade market. Might as well be honest about their defensive capacity and start over with players that are at least developing like an Iorio. Not much to lose shifting to that mentality before long (to the degree they're even able roster-wise to do so).
While there's a wide degree of latitude for MacLellan in terms of the core, their decline and ownership decisions, he's hasn't added much to offset/combat any of this. Strome, Milano, Phillips, Sandin...none industrious and complete to the point where they're going to make any difference as leadership material. Until they add more of that element--even Wilson looks cooked in that regard--they're just a dense country club easy out seemingly incapable of dialing it in.
