Well Rutherford traded McCann for Hallander and a 7th. And before you say expansion draft, look at who they protected over McCann. We at least gave up McCann thinking we gave up a potential top 6 player. The way McCann has been treated prior to arriving in Seattle is so odd.
I think Rutherford/Allvin’s D scouting has been much better and I think they know they this team needs Top 4 Dmen. They certainly haven’t committed money and term to guys like Bear.
And thank goodness they didn't. Bear looked borderline useless coming back from injury with the Caps. That's not a contract i'd want to have on the books.
But again...i think it highlights a few things.
1)Hughes is an absolute stud and he's capable of carrying an absolute nobody of a partner. Not idea, but possible.
2)Finding good RHD can be a long and winding road, so there's an argument in that to just keep Hronek.
As far as the McCann thing...i feel like he was despised when he was drafted, because of the whole hilarious "meat and potatoes" thing which people took in altogether the wrong way. When at the end of the day...he's really more sizzle and flash than anything else. But yeah...he was generally pretty well-liked here when he was dealt for Real Gud. A lot of people mad about that all over again.
The whole expansion thing with Pittsburgh...and Toronto was just...odd. It just never really made any sense to me from either angle...and that was before he absolutely blew up and showed that he could score the way he has for Seattle. He was looking a lot more like a streaky, wildly inconsistent middle-6 tweener at the time...but still better than other guys both teams kept over him. Though some of that was also forced by NMCs i believe.
I think this staff have definitely been much improved in their ability to find serviceable defenceman. Specifically, guys who will work in Ricky Toks system. Which gives me a decent amount more confidence if they
do end up back scouring the wastelands for a Hronek replacement. But you can't just replace him with a bunch of Ian Coles, Nikta Zadorovs, etc. You have to find a similar caliber, "like for like" replacement. Whether that's a RD/LD, pivoting to a second more "balanced" pairing or whatever it is...you've gotta bring in a quality Top-3D if you're moving Hronek out. Because that's what he is...and we really need
more of those, not less. So if you're making that move, it has to be about reallocating salary cap for a deeper blueline overall, but without taking a big step back at the top of the roster. Tough trick to pull off, but i'd kind of like to see it.
