See, the good thing is, there are several teams out there who would love to trade some grit and depth for a star player. Dubas has a team where with just a few moves, can easily change the entire make of the team by making a few trades to surround the core with bangers and stuff.
However what does that even look like? He got Muzzin, who was one of the most physical D out west before he got here, and has slowly stopped hitting. Ceci is not soft in the slightest, will always block a shot and take a hit to make a play. Does adding a guy like Edmonston to the bottom pairing really make a difference?
Does bringing in more Komarov's, Martin's, and Polaks, who we all wanted gone, really make this a better team? Of course not. They would need to get some top 6 guys who play like grinders, which are so rare they never get dealt. A Wilson, Ferland, etc doesn't make the team tough to play against by themselves, and would cost a Nylander + to return.
People are suggesting to get a team full of grinders and plug in a few stars and see what happens, when we have a team filled with essentially top 6 skilled players and top 4 D.
1 or 2 guys won't make a difference. This is coaching IMO. Remember in pre-season Matthews throwing hits? Now all these guys stop hitting.
It's clear that before the roster is dismantled for "grit", that you want to see the team with a different coach to see if he can get the best out of them.
