I'm entirely open to blowing this whole thing up, as I've said. You don't ever win a deal by moving a Letang or Geno if your goal is to still compete for a Cup in the present. You make those deals because you accept that things are flawed beyond repair (with respect to the Geno and Letang deadline in two years contract-wise), and you accept that the "right" way to go about things is to gear up to be a contender again in 3-5 years through shrewd pickups in FA/trade, while drafting and development are your true foundation builders.
Look at the Blue Jackets. They're a team of essentially no-names who play their asses off and play a fast, aggressive style. I know they've got some nice pieces like Jones and Werenski, but in the grand scheme of things, they're no Leafs, Oilers or Penguins--and I think they might be better for that.
I'm not saying to ignore big name, marquee players or anything, but that team building and roster composition go deeper than simply throwing mud at a wall over and over again to see what sticks like JR has done in recent years. This operation's been a rudderless ship since the last Cup win, with no real direction or identity in place to guide the building process. It's just been a wild assortment of moves with no real thought behind them, imo.
