Fantasy GM-ing aside, I feel people are too down on this team, not without good reason mind you, but still. I think people are underrating the impact having a legitimate coach will have for this group. Even if Marner, and by extension Tavares, don’t waive their NMCs it’s not the end of the world. Worst case we have one more season of a 90+ point winger and a 60-70 point centre who’s good at faceoffs. If the team fails again it’s only one more season with these two. Mitch will f*** off and Tavares will either do the same or re-sign at a heavy discount.
Let’s say the least enticing option happens and Marner does return, as this thread posits. Even after re-signing a few RFAs (Dewar, maybe Robertson, maybe Liljegren) there’s a ton of money to play with to upgrade the team. This team can radically transform and greatly improve the defence by signing two of Roy, Pesce, Tanev, Skjei, or Zadorov. This can be done with Brodie, Samsonov, Bertuzzi, Domi, and Klingberg coming off the books.
We'd still lack that proven elite #1G people pine for but those goalies don't grow on trees and when teams get them they hold on to them. Our only option in this scenario where Mitch doesn't waive (and even if he did I wouldn't deal him for a goalie) is to pray Woll can be that guy and remain healthy long enough for that to matter. And if he can't signing a guy like Brossoit to platoon with him would be massive, and a transformed defence could insulate any goalie faults and carry the team through at least a couple of rounds. We've seen that with Colorado recently and despite the legend of 2019 Jordan Binnington, Berube and the Blues did something similar. Binnington was clutch but he wasn't a world-beater that spring. He was solid and the Blues defence was great at protecting him.
Now, I personally want to keep both Domi and Bertuzzi because I value their offensive output and their shitassery. I like having an in your face, hyper-aggressive forward group and those two were and can be big parts of that. Both players still fit the mold of what Treliving and Berube want in players, but if we have to lose one (likely Bertuzzi) to make room for two defensemen instead of just one I'm on board for that as well. I will say I would much prefer them, or hell even just one of them, to Kampf and Jarnkrok, who each have in-house replacements ready to go and are both too passive and prone to disappearing in the playoffs. Treliving inherited Jarnkrok and he jumped the gun signing Kampf when O'Reilly spurned us and he panic signed a familiar centre who Keefe no doubt overrated in his talks with him.
The impact Berube will have cannot be understated, and the opportunity to revamp our backend the way Treliving envisions it will not be missed, regardless of Mitch coming back or not. This team is also in line for a continued youth movement. Knies will be a sophomore, Robertson could potentially return and we know he has a finishing touch. Minten could make the team and he looked strong last year in camp. Cowan just got done dominating the OHL and could seriously challenge. Niemela made great strides in the AHL, and Cade Webber and Joseph Quillan are both intriguing NCAA grads. Woll has a clear path to being the starter and he has shown signs of being elite.
I do think we need to prepare for the potential return of the "Core Four" as it were, with two guys obviously not going anywhere, and two with NMCs who don't seem all that eager to go. It'll be frustrating, but it's not a death sentence, especially if Tree makes the moves I expect him to. Or hell maybe I'm too much of an optimist and we'll get more of the same next year, I dunno. I have to have hope otherwise why am I watching?
