Simpleton
Joined: Jun. 2017
Posts: 1,365
Likes: 502
Holland was never going to avoid being handicapped during his first couple of years with Edmonton. The team he inherited had fundamental flaws, and had poorly managed its assets. Hence the changes he brought in the past year have not resulted in an ideal roster, just a much better one compared to the previous season.
The roster listed above simply demonstrates the depth that Holland has accumulated, and it is probably the best way he could have prepared his team for a potential play off appearance. There are still questions and gaps, but it is not reasonable to expect that all would be fixed by now, and we have to realize that today's roster will not be in place next October.
There are sure to be fewer NHL contracts sitting in Bakersfield. Manning, Granlund, Jurco, are all gone, as will be Gagner's 10%, and Gryba's $300k. I would not be surprised to see Benning moved this summer, and there is going to have to be at least a couple of current bottom six players moved out as well.
Today's roster is meant to support the core gaining play off experince. A second, or third round appearance is gravy.