They have to add a lot of substantially talented D prospects to their system. Those typically take longer to develop than forwards. The Hawks are doing well in that regard and they’ve been a worse team when Brodie, Martinez, Jones, and Murphy are all in the lineup as opposed to the kids.
The Hawks are absolutely lacking in forward talent and Bedard is on an island out there. No denying that. I just don’t see how the Sharks are overwhelmingly perceived as having a better rebuild at this stage when they’re clearly a worse team than even the disasterous Blackhawks. Askarov most likely isn’t their answer in net either.