Are you saying that Vegas and Colorado should be cised but everyone else should be gutting their trash rosters?
The point is that within the constraints of the cap all teams are arguably trying to manage their way into the playoffs, irrespective of positioning. Once you make it as we've seen especially the past five years or so the SC can become a total crapshoot. In this the Rangers' strategy of managing their portfolio of contracts is no different. I don't take issue with that mission statement.
The thing is that for far too long this organization has been obsessed with size and toughness in lieu of skill and speed and we have fallen behind probably half to 2/3 of the NHL in that regard; indeed, without Hank and Igor the Cup Final loss to L.A. and the Conference Final loss to TB would never have come close to happening. If things don't change - and Drury's recent draft picks provide some hopeful signs - we're gonna be condemned to cap hell mediocrity for the foreseeable future because guys like Kreider, Goodrow, Trouba, Kakko etc just are not the direction the league is going. I'm about 40 games from throwing Laf in that bucket as well.....I expected much more from him as 1/1.
I watch this team and it looks like they're skating in molasses. Then I have to remind myself that what I'm really watching is one guy driving a Kia with rusted out heads and a bad transmission while the other drivers are operating Ferraris.
We need some Ferraris.