I think Berube is doing what Hextall wants him to do, figure out who is going to be in this team's future.
Look, Hextall was hamstrung by Holmgren's contracts, he was able to dump Hartnell but has to eat Umberger, he is stuck with Vinnie who is probably unmoveable and too expensive to buy out for another year or two, he has to live with Grossman and Luke Schenn for now.
He is keeping the kids at Lehigh so they can grow up, learn to play right, and not waste a year of low contracts watching them flounder in the NHL.
But I don't think this team is that bad, more like last year, a 90-95 point team that will probably squeeze into the playoffs but little more.
I like Raffl with G and V, he's added muscle and can skate with them and is willing to do the dirty work.
I'd like to see Simmons back with Couts and Read, I think that's the best group for the #2, but they also want to figure out what to do with Bellamare, who is more talented than I expected, he can fly, and might be a better fit down the road as the #2 C.
B Schenn has to show he can play wing, again, I think this is experiment time, if he can't hack it, look for a trade by January, he got moved to wing because they wanted more speed at center. Figure he can bring a young winger in a trade or a high draft pick.
Umberger is playing right now because Hextall probably wants to see if he can contribute at all, or do they buy him out at the end of the year.
As far as the defense, with Coburn out, there are no good pairings, Schultz is a #7 D-man, they didn't sign him to start, they signed him for this situation, hang in there until Coburn returns.
L Schenn and Grossman won't be here next year, MDZ is getting an extended tryout this season - he either improves or he won't be resigned.
So if you look at it from that perspective, you'll expect them to struggle until players either step up or out. One thing I like is the 4th line, not as effective with Jones, but you can see what they can do with Laughton, Rinaldo (who's actually playing well, only one bad mind fart penalty so far) and Akeson/Cousins/Leier - speed on that line with one or two guys who can actually shot (and imagine if say Ghost was on the ice as well) can disrupt, instead of the goons with feet of concrete we're used to seeing.
Over the next two years a lot of dead wood and their money will be pruned, in the meantime, well, better we watch them struggle than make foolish deals trying to patch a leaking ship rather than build a new hull.