Dubas always said, when he handed out those contracts to the big 4, that they'd have to get creative with the edges of the roster. But these cuts are starting to hit pretty deep. First Connor Brown, then Kapanen and Johnsson, now Hyman. And maybe Rielly next?
And that's with no real albatross (ie, cap dump) contracts...Freddy coming off the books and a dirt cheap replacement in place...and an army of low cost veterans filling out the roster.
...and then you consider that we've got nothing for all our "own rentals" (Komarov, Bozak, JVR, Gardiner, Barrie, now Hyman) to keep a flow of talent coming.
...and that we traded more assets to maintain cap flexibility (Marleau) and add resources for failed playoff runs (Foligno, etc.).
...and then the flat cap, just to stick an extra nail in the coffin!
...But let's not forget the coup to gras! Our core, for whom we've made all these sacrifices, turns out to be a bunch of underachieving choke artists! And just as we realize we need to upgrade the supporting cast, it becomes as clear as ever that we can't even afford the middle class players we already have.
Dang.
