San Jose will be in the playoffs by 2026.
I think 2027 would still be a bit optimistic, but possible.
We have zero clear top 4 d-men. Three that are 4/5 (Ferraro, Walman, Ceci). Dickinson, Mukamadulin, Thrun, and Pohlkamp aren't too far out, but if we had two #4 guys from that group, it'd be a bummer, but probably realistic. And not sure any are quite top four next season.
In Celebrini and Smith, I think we've got two first line forwards in two years, and Eklund and Tofolli as second line forwards. Zetterlunds a perfect middle six tweener. Musty may get there. Bottom six looking pretty solid.
We'll add another stud in 2025 draft, but our young guys need time, some further purchased depth, and critically a #1 d-man. I've got my eyes on Matthew Schaefer, but even if he's Drew Doughty (99% chance he aint), it's still going to take another year or two.