So, this will be unpopular but… it’s just my opinion and observation.
The locker room was always too chummy and comfy (country club if you will). If not over pampered, at least definitely a “boy’s club” atmosphere. Fox basically got inducted into that group immediately when he showed up and made such a huge impact and then won a Norris. That’s fine - being accepted and getting in close with the core guys who have been there and kind of “run things” isn’t the problem. Lafreniere never proved as much as Fox but he’s a total “bro” and so he also gradually/pretty quickly got “in” with the club.
The problem is that this particular club is basically Chris and Mika and it’s the most infectious, spineless, loser mentality in the league. Goodrow and Trouba being jettisoned offended Chris and Mika, but by extension, the little brats who got absorbed into the boys club also got butt hurt, because that whiny, entitled attitude is contagious. It essentially ruined them. We’ve seen that both of them CAN be great, but neither really is anymore. Because they’re in the club. And the club is now malcontents. The effort is never 100%, let alone 110. The attitude and body language is consistently poor on the ice. And yet it’s still all chummy smiles and jokes on the bench and in the room.
It won’t happen, and I don’t need anyone to agree with me, but my personal preference would be to purge them ALL. The only guys I am remotely content to keep around are the ones who haven’t been here long enough to have been indoctrinated into the NYR culture yet, like Cuylle, Berard, Edstrom. And I worry that Cuylle having a big year will lead to him becoming “one of the boys” followed by a miraculous dip in effort and compete level. The only exceptions are potentially guys like Panarin or Trochek who simply seem to have an innate motor that isn’t dictated by the crappy culture of their peers. But I would absolutely purge every INKLING of the team’s previous identity and culture this summer. That’s just me. Will never happen, but that’s probably the only thing that would genuinely, fully rejuvenate my ability to care about this team.