Cap space (and assets) are everything. Who would have guess Connor Brown would tear up his knee. And that Backstrom hip would give out. And Kuzy would stop caring. Thank Hank would have a heart problem. And Mantha would suck. I mean come on. Look around the league at all the other failed players and stupid moves by GM’s. Caps and GMBM have been great all things considered.
And then when GMBM stated he wanted to make changes at goalies he signed the best available and took a chance on a goalie who never had a one way contract. He wanted to upgrade top 6 but couldn’t trade Kuzy or Mantha because nobody wanted them and with no cap space he had to grab another reclamation project in Patches. Just like Strome, Milano, and even NAK.
The issue is you expect perfection. It doesn’t work that way in hockey. Gambles are risky. The other thing that doesn’t work is one-way deals. You need to have a partner that wants to dance. Moves that don’t happen doesn’t mean we weren’t interested. We just couldn’t find a deal that worked for us.
This year is different. We have cap space. Tradeable assets. Draft collateral. Even then, GMBM has to be careful with the contracts he signs because Leonard is a year out. Miro is right on doorstep. We have a bunch of players who are 1-3 years away with potential. So don’t expect him to sign 4-5 players. maybe 1 or 2. Plus maybe a hockey trade. I suspect that one may be an older vet on a one-year deal to give us flexibility in signings next year. We’ll see but it will be a different offseason from the last 5.
I agree that Backstrom and Kuzy situations were not completely predictable and do not blame GM for how that worked out. I suspect Backstrom contract in particular was forced by ownership. GM said himself that Backstrom's contract was "nostalgic", think we all know what that means.
I also have no issue withe Brown and Manthan trades. Sucks that Brown got injured and Mantha definitely had a lot of potential when he came here. Plus they were able to move Vrana in that trade. Not sure why you put Lundqvist signing on this list. He was what 38-39? You really think that even with a healthy heart he would be much of a difference maker? I mean sure he is a legend but come on. He was way past his prime.
I think the reason why we do not see eye to eye here is because we may be looking differently at the big picture. I could be wrong but what you said, it appears to me that you are more content and patient, possibly looking at this from the long run perspective. So with that approach i understand the reasoning behind defending GM and being content with lack of major moves to reshuffle the roster.
Me on the other hand, i'm mostly looking at right now and not being too concerned about what will happened 2-5 years from now. I want to see them compete one more time before Ovi retires more than i want to see 895. 2018 was some of the most fun that i had watching hockey since i started in 2000.
I hope you are right and this summer will be different. I hope the young guys on this team continue to develop. And i hope that they do use said cap space and assets to make some meaningful changes. I hope whichever vet they do sign is not injured and can play when the season starts. Most of all, i just want to see a team that is not expected to be a bottom feeder before the puck even drops.