They just need some sort of cohesive plan.
If the plan is to add some dry powder for a stretch from 2023-26 - get all the value you can now to align with that window. Move Edler at the deadline for any picks. Figure out soon if guys like Gaudette, Rathbone and Hoglander are "core" pieces in 3 years - if they aren't, move them. Don't just lose them like we did with Stecher and Hutton. Gaudette would net a sweet return from a team like Tampa that is currently cap strapped to the brim, but need cost controlled contributors.
Or if the plan is to "compete" before the 2023 season when all the cap is on the line (assuming two year bridges to at least two of Petey, Hughes and Demko) - cash in now, aggressively, while the market is soft. Attach Pod + 2nd to Loui and send him to Detroit. Get rid of Sutter by strapping Juolevi and a 3rd to him, hell maybe even get rid of Myers somehow (with a 1st+?). Sign Granlund, Hoffman, Vatanen. Go in on Anthony Cirelli. Try to win a Cup in the next three years. If it fails, use Horvat + Miller at the 2022-23 deadline to recuperate the picks lost going for it, and try again in two years.
Half-assing it both ways (bridging Petey and Hughes, using the savings on a player not nearly good enough to push things forward, losing one of Miller or Horvat and then getting cap strapped by the second Petey/Hughes extensions) is the way to ensure this core never comes close to winning. Hope that isn't how it goes.
If the plan is to add some dry powder for a stretch from 2023-26 - get all the value you can now to align with that window. Move Edler at the deadline for any picks. Figure out soon if guys like Gaudette, Rathbone and Hoglander are "core" pieces in 3 years - if they aren't, move them. Don't just lose them like we did with Stecher and Hutton. Gaudette would net a sweet return from a team like Tampa that is currently cap strapped to the brim, but need cost controlled contributors.
Or if the plan is to "compete" before the 2023 season when all the cap is on the line (assuming two year bridges to at least two of Petey, Hughes and Demko) - cash in now, aggressively, while the market is soft. Attach Pod + 2nd to Loui and send him to Detroit. Get rid of Sutter by strapping Juolevi and a 3rd to him, hell maybe even get rid of Myers somehow (with a 1st+?). Sign Granlund, Hoffman, Vatanen. Go in on Anthony Cirelli. Try to win a Cup in the next three years. If it fails, use Horvat + Miller at the 2022-23 deadline to recuperate the picks lost going for it, and try again in two years.
Half-assing it both ways (bridging Petey and Hughes, using the savings on a player not nearly good enough to push things forward, losing one of Miller or Horvat and then getting cap strapped by the second Petey/Hughes extensions) is the way to ensure this core never comes close to winning. Hope that isn't how it goes.