I also don't think our window is actually open much, maybe by another 1 or 2 years. Our main guys - Barkov, Huber, Ekblad - are all on the back-half of their prime years. Not that they won't still be good players, but you rarely see players at that age with the limited success they've had so far to suddenly lead a team to a cup.
I don't think with our current set up we can be a power house like Tampa or Colorado, or the previous Pens/Hawks/Kings etc. We just don't have that star power. If we were to win a cup, I think it'd be more like the Blues. Get into the playoffs and keep taking shots, hoping one of those years captures lightning in a bottle. That's why I think we should be re-tooling to have an extended window of getting into the playoffs instead of going for peaks and valleys.
But, I think management still wants to go for it and if that's the case, they need to hire an experienced coach and go all-in at the TDL. Maybe Maurice isn't the preferred hire with a guy like Trotz available, but the fit needs to be there. Who knows what Trotz was looking for, rumour was he wanted some front office role too, and I doubt Zito would be ok with that being a relatively new GM. So we go with Maurice, a guy with experience who has had some past success with less talented teams.
I'm not a big fan of the direction we're taking. I probably won't like the Huber contract we sign or letting him walk for nothing. But if this is the path they're choosing to take, then Bruno had to go and an experienced coach needed to be brought in.