Beast, there is not an example of a consistently competitive team in the eastern conference. The closest right now is the battalion; but they have to re-tool this season, and likely face a real rebuild in 2026-27 because 11 of their signed players are ‘06s.
Many are pretty impressed with the Petes rebuild. What if the ‘08 born turn out to be a better class than the ‘07; do the Petes sell it all because two teams go all-in a season early just to extend their rebuild to 5-6 years? The wolves did that … rebuild of the rebuild; yuck!
Teams should not fold when they don’t have to imo. And no, Kingston cannot afford to sit back and fall behind in the standings to see what unfolds; by then, they’re looking at certain 4-5 match up; or worse, a 3-6 match up with a tough team to beat.
Barrie, Brampton, and certainly not Oshawa are out of reach. Kingston right now should make every attempt to acquire Wakely; failing that, hope like hell Wakely does not go to Barrie or Brampton.
If like the steelheads at the ‘23 deadline, the Frontenacs find themselves in no-man’s land; then they can consider a major sell.
This particular conversation is now boring. We all understand that Kingston has an older roster.
This isn’t about whether they should or should not go all in. It is whether the team at its core right now is Championship calibre. If the Fronts go out starting this weekend and go on a roll and prove they are in the top tier, then they should go out and gobble up whatever they can afford. That is the usual blueprint strategy.
But, for some reason, this seaosn is different. Teams that are anticipating being good are making deadline’esque type trades and the puck hasn’t even dropped on the season. This has placed pressure on the other wannabe contenders to do something now. They don’t “need” to.
So, the question really should be whether Kingston should take a measured approach and let the market unfold in front of them while they grow as a team through the early stages of the season, or should they force the market by overpaying for players now? Other teams in a seller position may have a more significant impact on when the market opens for business which may force Kingston to make a move prematurely, but if/when that happens, they can choose to participate or not.
To me, the one player that they need to be in on is Wakely when he becomes available. If North Bay holds him through the deadline, then Kingston needs to wait through the deadline.
So, in some instances, even if you want to be patient and let this team go prove they are true contenders with their demonstrated play on the ice, the market doesn’t always cooperate.
If the Fronts take this current team into the regular season and get pummelled for some reason and they look poor, do you still make an investment thinking 1-3 players will make a difference? To me, that is the real conversation. If the Fronts are 6-7 at the end of October, would that change the mindset of the fanbase and team management? To me, it is more about how did they lose these games?
These are the sorts of assessments that can be made but it is not like Kingston controls its own destiny. They are at the mercy of the market as well as their own reputation…aka will key players agree to go there?
