Seems like a huge cop out. Dubas left Toronto because of meddling and was giving a ludicrous contract to come here. I think the reality is Dubas is trying to rebuild as quickly as possible.
No chance. Why acquire EK for 4 years at age 33, at the cost of a 1st, if you're trying to rebuild as fast as possible? They could have easily just let the bad contracts run out and had them all off the books by summer 2025. Instead EK's on the books at 10M until he's 37.
Why push to re-sign Sid when he's 37, for a boatload of money, if you're trying to build your new core? That's only gonna decelerate the process. They need that money for more important things than pushing for 8th-10th place finishes, and inevitable April golfing.
Are Jarry and Graves supposed to be big parts of the future? How old are they gonna be when the team are contenders? Why sign them last summer to huge money? Those contracts won't align with the team's trajectory for Cups at all.
Pettersson shouldn't be here anymore either. His value peaked after last year, and it's a great time to cash in.
Looks like they might re-sign him, but for what purpose? Mentor the young kids?
His presence here won't save the team from misery for a good number of years. His new contract would kick in at age 29. He'll be deep into his 30's by the time they're ready to accomplish anything in the East.
If they do that it's stupid, and risky. He may decline later and have his trade value plummet.