I dont really agree with free agency being a huge flop even before Schmidt.
They made a team decision, and the right one, not to offer Markstrom and Tanev long term massive contracts.
They are just too old for the core and when its cup window will open.
They refused to up the offer for OEL and give Arizona any value whatsover for OEL.
That leaves Tofolli and Stecher.
Friedman said Benning had been working on the Schmidt trade all weekend long and he thinks that deal was done by Saturday which fits the timeline on why he let Tofolli and Stecher walk.
I think with what was going on behind the scenes which of course the public isnt previ to it made it seem like Benning wasnt getting anyone signed when in reality he had Schmidt in his back pocket.
I like the cut of your jib.
A lot of people on this site act like if we aren't privy to something, it doesn't exist. From what I heard, the Canucks had other balls in the air like Tyson Barrie. But for everyone who was panicked that we hadn't made a move in a flat cap UFA period, I thought it inevitable that superior players would shake loose when the big fish went shooting for the stars.
Let's not forget, our team as constructed simply isn't good enough, and is really trying to build so that their apex is 2 or 3 years from now when the bad contracts end. So stretching ourself to re-sign all of those free agents would have hamstrung us in mediocrity, and then some of those contracts would have become albatrosses, thus repeating the cycle.
OEL could have been a fantastic add if they had given him to us for pennies on the dollar, while retaining a bit and taking back a bad contract. That's like Deus ex Machina levels of positive intervention, that's worth focusing on. And if you lose a Troy Stecher in that process, the human side of you grieves for a good man, but as a team trying to build a cup caliber team? You do that all day, everyday.
Then he didn't get seduced by the dream and give up something stupid like Podkolzin, a 1st, or I would argue, Hoglander. He moved on with some patience and hit an absolute homerun.