Morning after thoughts:
-This sucks. The best chance we had for success in the next few years was with EP and JT. It's a total organizational failure that their feud was able to get to this point. We needed someone, anyone, to be the adult in the room, and the fact that we couldn't find someone to do that is frankly a failure at every level: player leadership, coaching, and management.
-Quinn Hughes may be the most important player this franchise has ever had and you HAVE to go for it every year that you have him on the roster. You also just have to go for it at some point in general - you can't wait around forever trying to min-max every transaction you make.
-If you assume JT wanted out, as it sounds like he did, then the question becomes whether Allvin managed that situation well. In the circumstances I think the JT trade is likely about much as we could have gotten for him before the end of the season. The market was small, and made smaller by a massively superior asset (50% retained Rantanen) unexpectedly coming available. I hoped that they would hold off until the deadline but there's no guarantee of a better offer there nor is there a guarantee that the Rangers deal is still available at that time.
-Neither of Chytil or Mancini are terribly well established NHLers and it seems like the team is gambling on both having some upside we haven't seen yet.
-The Canucks' own pick is probably more likely to be a lottery pick than the Rangers' in 2026. The Rangers pick is overwhelmingly likely to be a mid to late 1st rounder - which I'm convinced are the most overvalued assets in the sport.
-M Petey deal is contingent on getting him re-signed but I really like him as a target. He's not a "brand name" type player - was not a high draft pick, does not play a flashy game, has never had great counting stats - but we need a guy who can turn the puck over in our own end and get it to the right end of the ice and it sounds like that's who this guy is.
-I like the idea of getting business done both in advanced of the trade deadline. I think the TDL is going to be a seller's market given the playoff battle in the east. There are a ton of playoff starved franchises n the mix (OTT, CBJ, MTL, DET) that you have to think will get pressure from management to buy.
-Similarly, I think there will be a ton of money chasing limited targets on FA day this year so the opportunity to lock up M Petey before then seems like a positive.
-I think we are going to see this team re-tool from the run-and-gun high octane offense to a more grindy, low event style of play. I'm not sure there is a ton of precedent for teams like this having success, but I'm not sure we have the top end talent to do much else.
-The team is 100% all in on an EP40 resurgence. If he doesn't find his game, the reality is this team is not going anywhere. I am honestly pretty skeptical this happens as I think this guy is the biggest headcase we've had since Bertuzzi, but it's probably the right bet to make even if I personally doubt it pays off.