I don't discount that Dorion had some justification for the trade as youve noted, i was excited to have a player of this caliber, but i think sometimes you just have to walk away from the table and this is a case where he should have. We paid too much at the time and we definitely paid too much now that the team is in last and still no extension. We need to be more realistic about the type of players the Senators can afford when acquiring them. The Senators don't get to operate like the big guys. Duchene had to be signed for this deal to make sense, no ifs ands or buts to that imo.
I respect trying to upgrade on Turris, but we have a small budget and don't appear to be able to afford Duchene, so imo we should have just re-upped guys like Zibanejad and Turris because that's just reality for the Senators and the type of players they can actually afford. We don't get to upgrade unless we can acquire guys locked up to good deals already, its not a negative, its just operating with your reality. Its most definitely your reality when you've got as many bad contracts on the books from mismanagement.
I could live with the deal if he's signed, but if he isn't, which appears much more likely at this time, then there's nothing anyone could say to convince me it was the right move for the team, then or now. If we'd given up a rental type return at the deadline, sure, but we didnt.
I see a lot of the same people that argue a low strict budget is required because of the realities of the market, arguing that this Duchene trade was the right move. Which is it? Do we need to be realistic about who we can afford when we're acquiring players, or do we just throw caution to the wind like Dorion did and pay a kings ransom for about 430 days of an upgraded #1C before you finally accept you cant afford him and deal him for pennies on the dollar compared to what you paid. It was a dumb move for a team not equipped financially. They have another month or so to prove that wrong, but its looking pretty dire right now. They may have been able to sell this rebuild to the fan base if this trade hadn't been made and they still had their 1st and potentially Jack Hughes. That right there alone would have given fans a reason to tune in this hear instead of this complete wash of a season where we know the end goal is nothing but making it through until the nightmare is over.
