Stay the course? I get it. But I think our fan base thinks that we will be better in 5 years than who we are today. There is equal risks to waiting vs adding to the current team core using assets like Juulsen and Ylonen.
Adding Muzzin in a trade using assets we can afford to lose and going after Stone or Panarin with the cap space we have fits Weber at age 33-36 range.
Think about how our team looks like in 5 years. We need to make room for some of our top prospects and some of those vets (Weber, Petry, Gallagher, Tatar) will be gone. Some then reply saying we sell them for more futures. Well that results in more hope and more middle of the pack team core build. We could go 10 more years with the futures strategy and still not be better than who we are today.
Between Juulsen and Ylonen. Ylonen hurts more cause Juulsen can be replaced with either Fleury or Brook. Ylonen is a good piece on wing and aside from Suzuki, it drops off after that. What's your plan? Trade Petry for more futures? Your not going to hit every time with the prospects you think you can steal from the other team (Suzuki for example) and the 1st and 2nd's won't be top 10 picks. There are risks with any plan.
Plan is simple, don't trade futures.
We're not Tampa or Winnipeg, our team isn't stacked up front still, and our farm isn't developed yet.
And we're not only 1 or 2 players away.
We have some successes right now, fine, I prefer to let the team win and lose together, don't mess with the chemistry, and let the kids grow.
In 1 or 2 years, if everything goes as planned, fine, trade surplus 'futures'.
In the meanwhile, trade redundant roster players, not necessarily those who are invaluable right now. Or don't.
Especially don't trade 'futures', we're not there yet.
Patience, don't fall into the same trap we did each time we had a couple shiny picks or prospects.
Build the team, properly.