I'm not worried about their value being low. It'll peak at the deadline with contending teams biting off on the hope that they were just in a bad situation (they are) and that they're still the players they once were. We can also retain on Kreider if need be.
Zibanejad I have no idea what we're going to do with. People think his problem is mental.. I think it's way more physical. He looks like he hasn't touched a weight since 2021. His explosiveness is completely gone.
The facts are, this core got old, had kids, and isn't as hungry as they once were. Family 100% has an effect on performance no matter how much money you make, and that is true for all industries.
Not every player can maintain themselves after they get a 5-8 year contract. Honestly, I can't believe how Panarin has reinvented himself. He still have flaws but he has made adjustments to make his enormous talent show through despite the lack of support. He could have easily mailed it in like some others have.
Fox
Mika
Kreider
Smith
Just going through the motions. At some point you deal with each of them even if it's for less value simply to not infect your next waive of players.
Lindgren is limited and will do better in a more defined role on another team. Kakko just needs to go. Laffy is very soon going to need to define his career arc bc right now he is a passenger that is content being the goofy comedic relief far too often instead of being the engine that stands out the way that we know he can be and that he has shown at times. Laffy is way too impressionable and needs the right influences around him. Kakko is to f***ing arrogant and thinks nothing is his fault. Years ago there were reports that kakko was not particularly liked in the locker room. He has never been a fit here, but laffy cannot be tainted otherwise he will see another Alex Daigle level waste of ability by a player that just had his head filled with too much fluff.
Beyond that, what is vesey doing here in 2024? Brodzinstink? 13th forward that has no defining skill for the NHL and is simply here bc they have no other center options for depth in the org.
Trocheck looks gassed, completely toasted after all the hockey last year. He played 22-24 mins at times last year in part bc of chytils injury and zibs suckiness, and he also played the most hockey games he had in a season. Guy is gassed and needs his minutes slashed. He can be a part of the solution if you put him in a place to ce successful again, but he also might be one of the most attractive trade assets we have.
Truth is there aren't a lot of pieces here that you would identify that you want to keep if you were building a team. There are some, but it's just a horrible mix that was empowered bc it had elite goaltending to prop it up as a better team than it ever was.
This is going to get more messy before it gets better.