I don't really see the point of pretending this is a rebuild. Trade away all our elite players for a bag of magic beans we hope one day become half as good as the players we already have? It doesn't make sense from a talent management perspective and it certainly isn't worth getting excited about. You should all prepare yourselves for completely underwhelming returns that make you want to vomit.
This is all about money. Eugene is slashing the player budget, exactly as he promised he would. He already cut hockey operations to the bone, now he's following through on his threat and doing the same with player salary. Alfie was first to be cut to save cash, then it was Spezza, then Karlsson... and so on. Even the fact that Karlsson was a merch selling beast wasn't enough to convince ownership to pay our players what they are worth to keep them.
This has the distinct smell of Eugene clearing the decks for new ownership to pay a big price to obtain a team with an established fan base, loads of prospects, and some great drafted talent already in the pipeline and on the team. It's like Vegas on steroids to some degree. It may even be what the new ownership group is asking for. They'll take none of the blame for the trades nor for not being competitive for 4-5 years, and they'll get set up with a great start line position. Hard as hell for us fans, but a good fresh start for an incoming buyer that's for sure.
