This is what I would like to see happen this off-season:
Draft/Before FA Period:
- Darft/Trade for a center that has the potential to be elite
- Stock the prospect cupboards at D and hopefully find someone who can be a #1D
- Trade Miller to recoup some cap space or trade Lack for picks and/or prospects
- Trade one of Bieksa/Hamhuis/Edler as part of a package to upgrade at D (preferably Bieksa)
Free Agency Period:
- Let Matthias, Richardson go as cap space is at a premium and they are too expensive for what they bring to the table.
- Resign our RFAs to reasonable bridge deals (no more than 2 years and re-evaluate at the end of the next year if they should be moved or kept long-term.
- Pull a Gillis and attempt to find cheap alternatives to both those players and have them play for the Comets as potential veteran call-ups in case of injury.
Training Camp/Pre-Season:
- Go in with the expectation that at least two (hopefully more) of Shinkaruk, Jensen, Gaunce, Baertschi, McCann, Virtanen, Cassels will make the team and don't be afraid to give them roles on the team.
- Have a plan to rotate the remaining older core out of the lineup (including the Sedins) during the season one at a time (or more) at various points to allow for rest/minor injury recovery and use call-ups from Utica more frenquently to give players above who didn't make the team out of camp NHL regular season experience.
- DariusKnight
I'm not disagreeing with anything in particular here, but 2 things to note:
1) Some of this is MUCH easier said than done.
Draft/Trade for a center that has the potential to be elite is something damn near every team tries to do given that they certainly don't grow on trees. TO have been trying for years.
2) If we insert that much youth in the lineup while relieving vets, it almost certainly will weaken the side to the point where we'll be missing the playoffs for a few years minimum. Not saying it's a bad thing, just saying.
