Quoting: Trevor31lv
I also wouldn't make the Provorov deal. I think he's a good fit in terms of short term 2 year player for that 2LD spot as prospects develop (though Meteychuk seems to basically be ready now, who woulda though lol). I was not cool with giving up the 1st for him though.....Saw a lot of arguments this offseason that it didn't matter if they overpaid for Provorov cause the pick was "basically free" from the Korpi/Gavrikov deal, but I think that mindset is awful.
I don't mind the Provorov deal, in hindsight. It's done 3 important things: 1) shielded players like Mateychuk and Svozil so they don't have to take on the 2LD role now, 2) Provorov's season has definitely bumped up his value a little, and 3) related to 2, gives us the ability to trade him down the line when we have a better idea which pieces are core and which holes need to actually be filled, and target those needs with either the picks or players we get back.
The overarching complaint for me is the FO:
"In this universe I'd also like to think Mike Babcock isn't hired as HC at all, and that whole crap show is avoided entirely. Pazzy wouldn't have been my first choice hire either, imo it would've been nice to get a external candidate who is a capable coach. I cannot understand this org's fascination with internal hires despite the fact they never perform to a high standard. (Todd Richards, Brad Larsen, Pascal Vincent, etc.). There were absolutely capable external candidates available who were passed over for whatever reason."
Paz is a fine coach, and I like what he's done this year. The last two seasons under Larsen completely ruined both the culture and the development trajectory of some key players that are just now getting back on track, IMO. Ownership should have let Jarmo make the choice and come to them before hiring, and when he said his choice was Larsen, fired him on the spot. They certainly should have fired him on the spot for hiring Babcock in the first place. The boys club/internal hire issues have plagued this franchise for years, and if anything needs a shakeup, it's the FO and arguably the ownership that's allowed a culture of failure to fester.
I don't mind the team on the ice, I think that's the result of a mostly fine or obvious moves that have set us up nicely for future success. But I don't trust this management crew to get us over the hump, and that's the first change that needs to happen.
As for the players: Gaudreau is still important because it showed the rest of the league that big-name free agents view Columbus as a legit spot. Severson is expensive but should be fine. Gudbranson has been fine this year, but I wouldn't take him over Bjorky, which was the biggest mistake of the bunch. Undo everything you've done here, and ice the roster as you have it, and
this team is still bottom-5 in the league.
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