Supposedly they were going to have to lose two of Cirelli, Sergachev, and Cernak in the 2020 offseason. Then Kucherov got "injured" and suddenly they were able to keep all three and win a cup.
Then there was supposedly going to be a comeuppance in 2021, but they traded Tyler Johnson, a negative value contract, and a 2nd round pick for Brent Seabrook's exempt contract.
2/3 of the third line was rentals, they lost Gourde in the expansion draft. You don't need to win a cup three years in a row to prove that your circumvention worked.