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this whole "rebuilding" notion is more fan fodder than anything else.
GM's don't purposefully build rosters designed to fail, even if they may concede to live with the growing pains of relying on younger/inexperienced players in important roles, or of having minimal veteran depth at a few key positions.
from there, the coaches & players are fully implicated in trying to spin a positive narrative for the season. when it works, you get the 2011-2012 Sens or Yotes, when it fails, you get the Oilers or Islanders.
If the new GM feels as though making any significant "upgrades" to our roster this offseason would be too costly/risky, and decides to rely on addressing our top-9 & top-4 needs by plugging in guys like Diaz, Emelin, Weber, Leblanc, Geoffrion, Palushaj, then so be it.
that would likely make us closer to a lottery shot then at being a cup contender, but with better injury luck then last year and a solid coach, we would still contend for a playoff spot.
I wouldn't be upset with that approach, as long as what held us back from improving was "fit" and not cap restrictions b/c we are keeping Gomez/Kaberle on the active roster.
Otherwise, with a half decent GM & the ownership backing to bury that 11M$ if needed, we should be able to add a quality top-4 player and a quality top-9 player, immediately solidifying us as a 6-10 team, if not higher.
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