Simpleton
Joined: Jun. 2017
Posts: 1,365
Likes: 502
I can't see how it can be argued that adding Hyman and Foegele isn't a serious upgrade over Nygard, Kahun, Khaira, and Ennis, or how bringing in Keith doesn't improve upon the combination of Jones, Lagesson, Koekkoek, Kulikov, and Russell. The left side is now much better.
Seeing Bear go is tough, but as far as I can see the move has at least as much to do with the loss of Larsson and the emergence of Bouchard as it does with retaining Barrie. In the end, Bouchard should prove a better player than Bear, Barrie will remain what he has always been, and if Ceci can be as effective as he was in Pittburgh then the RD should be very comparable to last season's group, if not better.
We have yet to see what Holland will do about goaltending and a 3C. Getzlaf and Bonino were both mentioned in rumors, but the former is staying with the Ducks and the later signed with the Sharks. There was a lot of chatter about Edmonton, Toronto, Carolina, Philadelphia, Colorado and Seattle all having interest in Kuemper. The Leafs and Hurricanes are probably out of that market now, and Colorado likely continues to work with Grubauer.