Last year, they were a light buyer. What they should have been is a light seller. Ludwinski should have been traded. Possibly Thib also, but that might have been too much.
This year you have a choice blow your brains out knowing that you have other teams that are going to be better no matter what you do.
OR
make a few small deals and see if you can get something to replace the players you will lose for next year.
The challenge that you have is that you are losing your top 2 defence and a winger. Add to that that you do not have a goaltender next year that can lead the team
I’m not convinced that the other teams are that much better. We all assumed Brampton would be elite and they have not. They have had injuries that have really held them back but regardless of that, they should be better with the lineup they are rolling out. They have a couple fundamental flaws in their roster construction that need to be addressed this week. We shall see if they can address those flaws.
Oshawa has had Oster not nearly as solid as he was last year. They are top heavy which is good for the playoffs but Barlow has been very average. They need to address their defence which looks like thy have done so but the overall depth on that roster is weak. They will have to hope they stay fully healthy.
Brantford may add but they should not be a factor. Niagara is more likely to stay status quo. Sudbury will try to add but n one likes to work with Papineau so they will likely end up short at the deadline. If Parker Vaughn will not waive his NTC, that really hampers the Colts from making another move for an elite player. They may be able to tinker a bit more but that is about it.
Kingston has the luxury of sitting back and watching the big domino’s fall. They have the depth up front to be good enough there. They need some depth defence. There may be an OA D-Man that falls in their lap. They could also find a quality 19 year old to add to the top 4 possibly. If there is another team like Flint or Sudbury that wasn’t able to make a buyer move decide to make a seller move, Kingston can take advantage.
It isn’t always about making a run for a Championship and being the front runner. It can be about giving it a run when the landscape is somewhat open. If Kingston positions themselves in the #3 slot, that is fine. They’d likely get a round 2 series vs Oshawa. Let Barrie and Brampton battle it out in round two (assuming Brampton fixes whatever is ailing them). See what happens.
IMO, they need to keep Hopkins for this year. Go get some good middle roster players, improve the back end and see what happens. If they can trade for a kid like Bowen then do it. Open the OA slot and get a kid like Mayich. Even if that is all they do, they are much better and that is done jsut with draft picks. It should get them out of round one and competitive for round 2. If the goalie can get hot, who knows?
