One thing that has plagued my mind this off season is that because we made the West finals this year, it covers up the weaknesses of the team and could have a bit of a rest on our laurels approach...roll up with the same team, almost got to the Cup finals last year so go again.
But my concern with that is how truly good are Dallas? If you take a step back we beat a very average Minnesota team and then a young up and coming but not quite good enough Seattle team, before succumbing to a genuine contender.
But what if the West finals appearance was a product of being in a favourable bracket? What if we played teams of the calibre of Edmonton, vegas, Toronto, Boston in our bracket in rounds 1 and 2. We may very well have been 1 and done with weakness glaring.
Are Dallas a contender, or are 2-3 more roster improvements needed to win the Cup...and if we don't make them are we back to being a 1st round and out / borderline wild card team...
Unsure.
Last year was found money. Nobody expected Dallas to be that good. Or at least the vast majority of us didn't. The problem is the fundamental structure of this roster because a) the cap didn't rise with covid and b) Seguin ruined his legs and isn't worth the contract he got.
Benn being worth the money this past season after being worthless the prior two is great. Marchment is a disaster contract so far and of course Faska is overpaid. Lundkvist also hasn't turned out how DeBoer wants him either.
The cheap internal defensive options are a season or two away. Thankfully the internal forward replacements are ready/near ready.
The hope is the young players take a step forward. The vets don't take a step back and at the deadline Dallas is in a position to add help without mortgaging the future. A healthy playoff Otter makes a huge difference too.
Do I wish Nill was a bit more cutthroat like the Vegas GM? Yes. I want Suter and Miller gone like everyone else, but I'm not willing to sell Stankoven or Bourque to bring in a meh defenseman that's not even a vast upgrade on this blueline because the good expensive ones are unattainable due to the cap.
I don't see how this group gets to Cup Finalist without another Miro or similar on the blueline. Seems very doubtful another will fall in our laps like Miro did.