The only thing about that Schenn deal that seemed odd was that Schenn is 3 years younger than Giroux and 2 years younger than Voracheck. So the logic was a bit off that you deal him to rebuild but still have those 2 on the roster.
Hextall did need a bridge goalie until Hart is ready. But, he might have expected Stolarz, a 2012 pick who is now 24 to be getting a shot in the net or Alex Lyon whom he signed from college a couple years ago. Vasilevski, Helly and Murray all came out of the 2012 draft.
Probably thought it would be a misuse of assets to get that veteran if you have kids that could take a run at the job.
Well, it's impossible to know ~tHe MiNd Of HeXtAlL~, but remember, he was looking at a forward group with Giroux, Voracek, Simmonds, and Couturier, and he'd gotten a good first season out of Konecny and had just picked Nolan Patrick the day he made that trade. That was a pretty crowded top 6 already, and Schenn had more value than Simmonds but less team impact/utility than the others.
His best defensemen, however, were 19 and 23 years old with a 20, 21, and 22 year old between them expected to join the club shortly. Defensemen usually take longer to develop/peak than forwards.
So the idea was basically, they'd be building a team around these defensive prospects and this potential star center (Patrick) who had fallen into their lap, but they didn't have a lot of supporting talent in that younger age range up front. They traded Schenn for 2 firsts and used them both to pick potential top 6 forwards (Frost and Farabee). So now you have, ideally, a second forward corps in the juniors to come in when the defense is ready and the current group are aging out.
It's pretty appealing, honestly, and they will have a ton of options in 5 years. The guy lost his job, though, because he seemed to always be thinking like an HF poster (the picks! the prospects!) and not working towards putting a good product on the ice anytime soon, which is pretty offensive to a fanbase that has consistently expected April and May hockey, and extremely unfair to one of the greatest hockey players to ever wear the uniform (Claude Giroux).