Bowman mismanaged the cap, and his scouts, who were excellent, are no longer the same group. CHI's model depended heavily on good cheap depth, and they haven't had that in a while. 3 Cups doesn't make him a bad GM. But they need a change.
Hayes- look I'm not in the boat of paying him $6M over term. I don't think the Rangers are either. Brooksie's always got a point that drives readership, this year it's this. Hayes isn't consistent enough to win with, and will garner a very nice return at the deadline which will help the Rangers a lot more than a long-term deal will. A bad Hayes contract comes at a very high opportunity cost, and I'm sure the Rangers get that.
I like your last point a lot. It was, not sure if it still is, but it definitely was too chummy in there for a few years. 15-17.... there wasn't enough accountability in that room. It didn't help that the coach was largely absent outside of games, practices and X&Os, but you can do that with a self sustaining locker room. The Rangers didn't have that, and need to build that again. So I definitely want changes, and trading out Zucc and Hayes will go a long way with that.
The team I look at and say, **** those guys play for one another, every shift, and every second on the ice is the WPG Jets. They built a culture and identity. When you watch that team, you see every guy chasing a puck, moving their feet, and the next man is there supporting them.
I see signs of that with Quinn, especially as he's shortening the bench.... but imagine if the bench didn't need to be shortened. Then you have a team with everyone that shows up. Moving Spooner was a good start, but I think they've got a few more heads to roll out for that to fully manifest.
