After having given this topic some very serious thought over the last several days, here would be my off-season priorities:
#1 Reach out to Guy Boucher and offer him the position of special teams coach for both the PP & PK, with the understanding that if MT gets fired he will slot in as the head coach in his stead. If he agrees, I fire Dan Lacroix and Clément Jodoin on the spot.
The effect of this hire would be two-fold: firstly we immediately improve our special teams and notably our PP, and two Therrien would feel the pressure to try different things if the team isnt doing well knowing that his potential replacement is only two feet away from him.
Also, I get the impression that Boucher would work well with our youngsters such as Galchenyuk and would take a more pro-active approach with him and others instead of Therrien's dictatorial manner and favoritism.
#2 Finding a taker for Tomas Plekanec, he's got to go at this point while he still has some decent value as trade bait. I love the guy but he simply doesnt cut it in the playoffs and since it is extremely unlikely that DD will be on the move TP will be the odd man out.
If I'm MB, I'd give the Avalanche a call and inquire about O'Reilly. I remember reading that Roy loves what Andrighetto brings to the table and thinks very highly of him, so I would propose the following trade to them:
Tomas Plekanec + Sven Andrighetto
For
Ryan O'Reilly + 2015 3rd pick
We get ourselves a versatile centreman/winger in the deal who plays a two-way game and is solid defensively and with better offensive instincts than Plekanec, and the Avs get a centreman who is a slightly lesser version of the same player they just trade to us, along with a promising young offensive prospect.
Win-win trade for both clubs imo. Our chances of re-signing O'Reilly are slim however, but we would immediately become a better team for next year and improve our offence in the process. If he walks, by then one of Hudon-McCarron-Scherbak should be able to step up with the big club the following season allowing us to save money on the cap.
So once again, win-win scenario.
#3 Re-signing Jeff Petry at all costs and move Tom Gilbert if he signs with us to accomodate his salary and to make room for our youngsters. I'd go as high as 6x6 for Petry, but anything more than that and I let him walk and use that leftover money to make a play for Phil Kessel from Toronto.
Say what you want about Kessel, the guy is an elite goal scorer and would absolutely tear it up alongside Pacioretty and Galchenyuk on the RW.
Pacioretty-Galchenyuk-Kessel has the potential to be one of the most dangerous offensive lines in the entire league, and with Alex playing alongside two offensive powerhouses his numbers would skyrocket as would his confidence in his own abilities, and he would finally become that coveted #1 center we have been dreaming about for almost two decades.
Of course, this is entirely contingent on Therrien letting them play together, but it is more likely that his favorite pet DD would be centering them, which brings me to my next and arguably most important off-season move:
#4 Sitting down with Therrien and making it clear to him that no matter what the circumstances, he is to play Galchenyuk at center for the entire season and start transitioning him to play the role he was drafted for. If need be, I trade DD for a 7th or future considerations to get him away from the team and to allow Alex to blossom.
Oh and Emelin is going absolutely nowhere, the amount of posters who want this guy gone while he was one of our most dependable and reliable Dmen this playoffs is simply astounding to me! so what if he is overpaid by .5mil at best, what he brings to the table we need until Dmen such as Lernout/Dietz and Tinordi break out as full-timers.