I’m sorry, why exactly is the Couture contract not a problem? He has notably declined since his 2012-2013 and 2013-2014 seasons. It has been a steady trend of decline over the course of 4 seasons now and he has been injured in every one of the last 3 seasons. I’m not saying he sucks, but he is not quite as good as he once was. The contract also doesn’t even kick in until he is 30 years old and it takes him until he turns age 38 $8M with a 3 team no-trade list. How on earth is that contract not a problem?
The Couture contract is a terrible contract. There was absolutely need to immediately lock up a player of his caliber in their age 30-37 seasons to such a high rate as soon as possible. It’s not as bad as the Kane, Vlasic, or Jones contracts, but it’s still pretty ****ing bad.
Are we talking SCF runs or SCF wins?
Drew Doughty and Steven Stamkos were the top-2 draft picks ten years ago. Tampa picked Victor Hedman a year later and Tampa has made 3 ECF and 1 SCF with those guys and will probably win the SCF next year. Seth Jones indirectly contributed to Nashville’s SCF run the same way Brayden Schenn did to LA’s win by returning a key piece in trade. Also, I realize I am Mr. “Cups are everything”, but McDavid/Draisaitl and Matthews/Marner were both back to back top-5 picks who have both carried their franchise out of the treacherous trenches in which they appeared stuck.
With that said, tanking isn’t a fool proof road to victory. Never said it was. But you almost certainly need to tank to win at this point.