I don't think they can sniff the bottom five without totally decimating the roster.
There are some terrible teams out there, Anaheim, San Jose, Arizona, Montreal, Chicago, even with Bedard . . .
It all comes down to young players, and you just don't know.
Brink took a couple seasons, but was the top scorer by a 7 point margin int he NCAA at 20 years old.
If he's for real, you have an elite playmaker on a top six line and the PP. If not, you have an undersized forward who lacks the speed to get back on defense and gets pushed around in the dirty areas.
Foerster is more depth in the top 9, a solid player but remains to be seen if he's more than that.
Andrae showed flashes, but is still adjusting to NHL speed and NA rinks. But like York, forget size, he plays with leverage, high IQ, and all around skill. But is he ready for top 4 duty?
Zamula has flashed, and now has a NHL body, has to take the next step and turn those flashes into consistent play. He has no special skill other than length and IQ, but that fits a lot of solid top 4 D-men, for every D-man with jets, there are two consistent guys who build ten year careers out of being in the right place. Is he one of those guys?
Cates, Frost, Tippett, Farabee - young enough to improve further, but that's no guarantee. They could regress, flatline or take a step up. Only Farabee has a track record.
Ersson - not as flashy as Hart, but seems to be more fundamentally sound. But he was bounced around last season and overworked in LHV, how good is he?
IF these players are for real, AND a couple players in LHV take a step forward, the rebuild will be accelerated with (2) 1st rd picks and Gauthier, Bonk and Michkov in the pipeline. They'll be on a 3 year schedule. If a bunch of these young players fall flat, then it's fire sale time and a five year schedule.
As usual, decisions are generally made by the players on the ice.
