Quoting: DirtyDangle
amirov was just bad luck. can't really blame dubas for that. however the rest is valid. id add the muzzin trade, and overpaying star players to that list too.
Agree, Amirov was a great pick that unfortunately isn;t going to provide the much needed player.
I would add to the weak GMing with the annual "shots in the dark" across the ocean like Lehtonen, Barbanov, Petan, Korshov, Malgin, the Russian center we signed this year, with hardly any working out. Or the usually meaningless and sometimes costly ANNUAL trades to address team toughness/physicality like Foligno, or even the multiple ridiculous moves in 21-22 to address the same problem we had in 20-21: Kurtis Gabriel, Ritchie, Simmonds, Clifford, Giordano and now Curtis Douglas.
And again after a valiant first round exit, we sit with one real KEY bluechip prospect in Robertson, just a 1st and 3rd in next 2 drafts, and no 4th, 5th, 6th this year (and lacking a 3rd in 2024). So we dont even have quality ELC to fill holes in the lineup. We have through the years developed some great depth players on mid level salaries that we cant afford. And yet most Leaf fans want to deal one of the big 4 that makes the least money.
That one decision to acquire Tavares, has limited or changed most decisions since then, and the team has not progressed.