Francesco Aquillini and Jim Benning --Tales of a Rebuild: Misconceptions, Misery, and Money

[AnthonyG]

18 minutes ago, 48MPHSlapshot said:

It still feels weird having a competent GM. Free agent signings and trades that don't cripple the franchise for years?!? Who here thought that was even possible after Benning!?

Lol hooked with a cap recapture penalty courtesy of Gillis, directly into a frozen cap courtesy of COVID how is anyone to actually put blame on him for cap management? I mean our current GM did pay 10.25mil to sign a guy who currently has 5 goals. Had to sign Mikheyev to sign Kuzmenko and right now Bennings 40th overall pick has more goals than the big UFA who started at the and and now he disappeared.  Hoglander started from the bottom now hes here. Oh and Hoglander has as many goals as Mikheyev.

[filthy animal]

23 minutes ago, conquestofbaguettes said:

 

They wouldn't have been "crippled" if the pandemic and flat cap didn't happen these past few years.  For example Tyler Myers wouldn't have recieved a 6×6 contract in the first place.  The financial projections change.

 

Rutherford stated the problem was GMs signing deals thinking the cap would keep going up and up. And that even he would have done the same thing!

 

Blaming previous management for "crippling" them is mostly just low hanging fruit.  Much more to the story here than just "previous GM bad."

 

You Benning Bros are too funny. Do you guys even look at what youre posting?

Edited December 14, 2023 by filthy animal

[LillStrimma]

1 hour ago, AnthonyG said:

All players should be held accountable.

we missed playoffs BECAUSE of Pettersson. 2021-22 showing up last minute to camp and not taking it seriously, then played like absolute shit for basically 40 straight games while being given EVERY single offensive opportunity and squandering it 24 times. Everyone else was pulling their weight. You dont think for one moment that in those 18 regulation losses, during that 40 game stretch Pettersson might not have had an impact and helped us win a few more games which would have resulted in playoffs?????? He registered one single fucking point in those 18 losses and was -16, before he finally got his shit together and we went on a tear as an entire team.

 

You just making things up.

You don’t know squat of the reasons why Petey played at a lower standard for a while.

The myth about ”missing important practice before the season starts” is something you can forget about.

 

[48MPHSlapshot]

2 hours ago, conquestofbaguettes said:

 

They wouldn't have been "crippled" if the pandemic and flat cap didn't happen these past few years.  For example Tyler Myers wouldn't have recieved a 6×6 contract in the first place.  The financial projections change.

 

Rutherford stated the problem was GMs signing deals thinking the cap would keep going up and up. And that even he would have done the same thing!

 

Blaming previous management for "crippling" them is mostly just low hanging fruit.  Much more to the story here than just "previous GM bad."

Three letters 

 

O

E

L

[48MPHSlapshot]

2 hours ago, AnthonyG said:

Lol hooked with a cap recapture penalty courtesy of Gillis, directly into a frozen cap courtesy of COVID how is anyone to actually put blame on him for cap management? I mean our current GM did pay 10.25mil to sign a guy who currently has 5 goals. Had to sign Mikheyev to sign Kuzmenko and right now Bennings 40th overall pick has more goals than the big UFA who started at the and and now he disappeared.  Hoglander started from the bottom now hes here. Oh and Hoglander has as many goals as Mikheyev.

Those are your trump cards in the GM debate. Mikheyev and Kuzmenko? The cope is real holy shit  

[conquestofbaguettes]

12 minutes ago, 48MPHSlapshot said:

Three letters 

 

O

E

L

 

Him too. Flat cap limiting what they could do. Hell, if they have been able to move guys like Beauvillier and someone like Garland earlier OEL would still be here right now.

 

They thought he was going to bounce back (and spoiler alert: he has.) Exit interviews were good. They had originally intended to keep him. As Rutherford stated yesterday OEL is a good player. But they couldn't make other moves due to the flat cap and subsequent constraints so the OEL buyout was the only play.

 

It's easy to point to this or that contract like a Tyler Myers and say "this is exactly why were capped" but the truth is if they cap was around 100 million like it should be right now none of the big issues would even really be  issues in the first place.

 

Even Rutherford said that at a the season open press conference. 

The biggest issue is that GMs around the league were signing deals making trades thinking the cap would keep going up and that he would have done the same thing if he was a GM at that time.

Edited December 15, 2023 by conquestofbaguettes

[48MPHSlapshot]

1 minute ago, conquestofbaguettes said:

 

Him too. Flat cap limiting what they could do. Hell, if they have been able to move guys like Beauvillier and someone like Garland earlier OEL would still be here right now.

 

They thought he was going to bounce back. Exit interviews were good. They had originally intended to keep him. As Rutherford stated yesterday OEL is a good player. They couldn't make other moves due to the flat cap and subsequent constraints so the OEL buyout was the only play.

 

It's easy to point to this or that contract like a Tyler Myers and say "this is exactly why were capped" but the truth is if they cap was around 100 million like it should be right now none of the big issues would even really be  issues in the first place.

 

Even Rutherford said that at a the season open press conference. 

The biggest issue is that GMs around the league were signing deals making trades thinking the cap would keep going up and that he would have done the same thing if he was a GM at that time.

Bruh

[conquestofbaguettes]

2 minutes ago, 48MPHSlapshot said:

Bruh

 

I know! Rutherford is right.

[AnthonyG]

2 hours ago, LillStrimma said:

You just making things up.

You don’t know squat of the reasons why Petey played at a lower standard for a while.

The myth about ”missing important practice before the season starts” is something you can forget about.

 

Bahahahahahh yea okay bud, no training and staying in shape in the offseason has no impact at all on performance. Not like pro’s have ever talked about it before and emphasized how important camp is. Players get put on conditioning stints for fun, not to actually give them a bit of time to adjust and get caught up to speed.

[AnthonyG]

1 hour ago, 48MPHSlapshot said:

Those are your trump cards in the GM debate. Mikheyev and Kuzmenko? The cope is real holy shit  

 Still waiting on your cards

1 hour ago, 48MPHSlapshot said:

“Bruh”

 

[48MPHSlapshot]

1 hour ago, AnthonyG said:

Still waiting on your cards

K

 

I'm sure I'll miss some, but...

 

-A 2nd rd pick for Linden Vey

-Signing Eriksson to a massive deal

-Drafting Virtanen

-Drafting Juolevi

-2nd rd pick (that turned into Rasmus Andersson) for Sven Baertschi 

-Kassian + a 5th for Prust

-Clendening for Forsling

-Future 40 goal scorers Jared McCann + a 2nd and a 4th for Gudbranson and a 5th

-Signing Beagle to an expensive contract

-Signing Roussel to an expensive contract

-Signing Ferland to an expensive contract when he already had concussion issues

-Letting Toffoli walk to free agency for Virtanen

-Letting Tanev walk because of his OEL obsession 

-Resigning Green

-Trading the final years of Eriksson, Roussel and Beagle in a year that we didn't make the playoffs, along with the 9th overall pick for OEL and Garland, one of which was bought out and the other of which is underperforming 

-Trading for Dickinson and signing him to an expensive contract 

-Signing Tucker Poolman to an expensive contract

-Chasing Trevor Linden out of the organization 

- Chasing Judd Brackett out of the organization 

-Developmental not developing a single full time NHLer other than Demko under his watch

-Only having one NHL caliber defenseman to show for 7 years of drafting under Benning 

 

I could go on...

 

 

 

 

 

[AnthonyG]

11 minutes ago, 48MPHSlapshot said:

K

 

I'm sure I'll miss some, but...

 

-A 2nd rd pick for Linden Vey

-Signing Eriksson to a massive deal

-Drafting Virtanen

-Drafting Juolevi

-2nd rd pick (that turned into Rasmus Andersson) for Sven Baertschi 

-Kassian + a 5th for Prust

-Clendening for Forsling

-Future 40 goal scorers Jared McCann + a 2nd and a 4th for Gudbranson and a 5th

-Signing Beagle to an expensive contract

-Signing Roussel to an expensive contract

-Signing Ferland to an expensive contract when he already had concussion issues

-Letting Toffoli walk to free agency for Virtanen

-Letting Tanev walk because of his OEL obsession 

-Resigning Green

-Trading the final years of Eriksson, Roussel and Beagle in a year that we didn't make the playoffs, along with the 9th overall pick for OEL and Garland, one of which was bought out and the other of which is underperforming 

-Trading for Dickinson and signing him to an expensive contract 

-Signing Tucker Poolman to an expensive contract

-Chasing Trevor Linden out of the organization 

- Chasing Judd Brackett out of the organization 

-Developmental not developing a single full time NHLer other than Demko under his watch

-Only having one NHL caliber defenseman to show for 7 years of drafting under Benning 

 

I could go on...

 

 

 

 

 

Hahahahah omg what a waste of time, you still dont comprehend a fuckin rebuild at all. Lololololol 

In your eyes Bourdon was probably a bust. 
 

Thank fucking god we drafted OJ and not Tkachuk. Would wound up with Weegar and Huberdone and missed out on Pettersson and Hughes 100% because Tkachuk would have 100000% had an impact on our standings. 

[48MPHSlapshot]

20 minutes ago, AnthonyG said:

Hahahahah omg what a waste of time, you still dont comprehend a fuckin rebuild at all. Lololololol 

In your eyes Bourdon was probably a bust. 
 

Thank fucking god we drafted OJ and not Tkachuk. Would wound up with Weegar and Huberdone and missed out on Pettersson and Hughes 100% because Tkachuk would have 100000% had an impact on our standings. 

So.....it's a good thing that Benning completely whiffed on his 2016 first then? Because, had he not wasted the pick he may have drafted a useful player that may have helped us in the standings, thus securing us a higher pick in later drafts? That's something Benning deserves credit for?

 

Rebuilding teams don't spend valuable cap space on free agents when they could be weaponizing that cap to take on bad contracts for picks or prospects. And how does trading away a high end prospect in McCann and a 2nd for Gudbranson make sense for a "rebuilding team"? Trading a top ten pick and a handful of expiring contracts for an over the hill 7+ mill defenseman and an undersized forward is what a "rebuilding team" does? Trading pick after pick after pick is something "rebuilding teams" do? Moving young prospects and picks for older, flailing prospect/players like Baertschi,Clendening and Vey just because they're "more NHL ready" is something rebuilding team do? 

[LillStrimma]

9 hours ago, conquestofbaguettes said:

 

They wouldn't have been "crippled" if the pandemic and flat cap didn't happen these past few years.  For example Tyler Myers wouldn't have recieved a 6×6 contract in the first place.  The financial projections change.

 

Rutherford stated the problem was GMs signing deals thinking the cap would keep going up and up. And that even he would have done the same thing!

 

Blaming previous management for "crippling" them is mostly just low hanging fruit.  Much more to the story here than just "previous GM bad."

I love t when you guys still talks as if Benning was the one and only GM that had to handle the pandemic and flat cap.

Don’t you realise wvery single one of the NHL GMs had to handle that problem?

 

Bennings issue was himself since he paid too much for garbage or cheap players.

 

How much do you think went into his pockets since he was the one and only GM that put himself in that position? 
At least the one and only according to your post…

[LillStrimma]

5 hours ago, AnthonyG said:

Bahahahahahh yea okay bud, no training and staying in shape in the offseason has no impact at all on performance. Not like pro’s have ever talked about it before and emphasized how important camp is. Players get put on conditioning stints for fun, not to actually give them a bit of time to adjust and get caught up to speed.

It seems you are very easily influenced by words(or statistics).

What players say are just words that have a purpose to touch the fans hearts or give an excuse for their bad play.

Players in Peteys condition and that have a mind that makes them train a lot harder than normal players doesn’t fall off a cliff during the summer.

They train the whole summer. If they have to come into shape because of a cold or something they only need a few games and they’re back. A few games, not over 40… Think.

 

If you want explenations go for injuries or how he’s been treated(here you can write whatever you can think of since it’s an area we don’t know much about besides the fact that the play usually goes from the left and Petey was deployed on the right side) in any way

[filthy animal]

6 hours ago, 48MPHSlapshot said:

So.....it's a good thing that Benning completely whiffed on his 2016 first then? Because, had he not wasted the pick he may have drafted a useful player that may have helped us in the standings, thus securing us a higher pick in later drafts? That's something Benning deserves credit for?

 

Rebuilding teams don't spend valuable cap space on free agents when they could be weaponizing that cap to take on bad contracts for picks or prospects. And how does trading away a high end prospect in McCann and a 2nd for Gudbranson make sense for a "rebuilding team"? Trading a top ten pick and a handful of expiring contracts for an over the hill 7+ mill defenseman and an undersized forward is what a "rebuilding team" does? Trading pick after pick after pick is something "rebuilding teams" do? Moving young prospects and picks for older, flailing prospect/players like Baertschi,Clendening and Vey just because they're "more NHL ready" is something rebuilding team do? 

 

Ive heard all sorts of crazy in CDC and some here, but an idiot justifying picking Juolevi over Tkachuk because the latter turned into Weegar and Huberdeau, that takes the cake.

 

AnnoyingG-oof not only is unemployed, and a virgin, but should also be fitted with a straight jacket

 

 

[filthy animal]

2 hours ago, LillStrimma said:

It seems you are very easily influenced by words(or statistics).

What players say are just words that have a purpose to touch the fans hearts or give an excuse for their bad play.

Players in Peteys condition and that have a mind that makes them train a lot harder than normal players doesn’t fall off a cliff during the summer.

They train the whole summer. If they have to come into shape because of a cold or something they only need a few games and they’re back. A few games, not over 40… Think.

 

If you want explenations go for injuries or how he’s been treated(here you can write whatever you can think of since it’s an area we don’t know much about besides the fact that the play usually goes from the left and Petey was deployed on the right side) in any way

 

 

Im actually really influenced with Chris Gears interview, if anybody can share a link

 

 

[filthy animal]

2 hours ago, LillStrimma said:

It seems you are very easily influenced by words(or statistics).

What players say are just words that have a purpose to touch the fans hearts or give an excuse for their bad play.

Players in Peteys condition and that have a mind that makes them train a lot harder than normal players doesn’t fall off a cliff during the summer.

They train the whole summer. If they have to come into shape because of a cold or something they only need a few games and they’re back. A few games, not over 40… Think.

 

If you want explenations go for injuries or how he’s been treated(here you can write whatever you can think of since it’s an area we don’t know much about besides the fact that the play usually goes from the left and Petey was deployed on the right side) in any way

 

Anthony is just grasping on straws with his dumbass takes, hes resorted to just making shit up now

[LillStrimma]

43 minutes ago, filthy animal said:

 

Anthony is just grasping on straws with his dumbass takes, hes resorted to just making shit up now

It’s not exactly dumbass takes.

It’s like the MasterMind of this topic. They take one fifth of reality and try to enforce that as the whole picture.

[AnthonyG]

8 hours ago, LillStrimma said:

I love t when you guys still talks as if Benning was the one and only GM that had to handle the pandemic and flat cap.

Don’t you realise wvery single one of the NHL GMs had to handle that problem?

 

Bennings issue was himself since he paid too much for garbage or cheap players.

 

How much do you think went into his pockets since he was the one and only GM that put himself in that position? 
At least the one and only according to your post…

When you are in a fuckin rebuild YOU ARE GOING TO HAVE TO OVERPAY. Do you not get that? Who the fuck wants to play in a rebuild??? 

The year the twins retired he overpaid for guys like Beagle and Roussel. 
All of the sudden, Pettersson makes an impact right away, the following season, Hughes and Miller come in and are a MASSIVE impact to the core/future.

Tell me, since Beagle and Roussel and Eriksson who were all signed through a rebuild, how many other bad signings came after that? Hmm please enlighten me.

through a flat cap we managed to re-sign Petey, Hughes, Demko, Boeser and signed them at absolute steals of a deal.

[AnthonyG]

8 hours ago, LillStrimma said:

If you want explenations go for injuries or how he’s been treated(here you can write whatever you can think of since it’s an area we don’t know much about besides the fact that the play usually goes from the left and Petey was deployed on the right side) in any way

Beautiful, thank you and you just cleared Eriksson, Virtanen, OEL and Myers of their play due to how they were treated and health related issues.

LE signed to play with the twins, spent no more than 31% of his TOI in 2016-17 playing with them, the following season dropped even further AND he sustained multiple big injuries. His offensive zone time was 50% and dropped significantly each season - that was purely utilization by Green.

 

Virtanen showed increased goal and point totals year by year. His ice time shrank year by year while producing more and his zone starts went from around 50% down to below 40%.

once again utilization by Green. Punished for producing.

 

OEL was a dynamic dman who whas utilized equally in both ends of the ice throughout his career, until he came here. Solely used to shutdown opposition. Battled through injury last season and then went down to injury last year. - Utilization and health

 

Myers was an offensive dman who has been used purely defensively here. Funny enough he has led Vancouver in defensive point shares 2/4 seasons and is usually top 5 when he doesnt lead the team. - utilization.

[AnthonyG]

9 hours ago, LillStrimma said:

It seems you are very easily influenced by words(or statistics).

What players say are just words that have a purpose to touch the fans hearts or give an excuse for their bad play.

Players in Peteys condition and that have a mind that makes them train a lot harder than normal players doesn’t fall off a cliff during the summer.

They train the whole summer. If they have to come into shape because of a cold or something they only need a few games and they’re back. A few games, not over 40… Think.

 

If you want explenations go for injuries or how he’s been treated(here you can write whatever you can think of since it’s an area we don’t know much about besides the fact that the play usually goes from the left and Petey was deployed on the right side) in any way

By Thomas Drance

Oct 12, 2022

---

Elias Pettersson doesn’t want to talk about last season.

On the eve of a new campaign and a fresh start for the Vancouver Canucks, their star centre knows that the widely publicized and endlessly dissected struggles that he endured in the first half of the 2021-22 season are behind him. They’re fuel, now. Motivational fodder.

“I learned a lot last year, I think it matured me — first off as a human,” Pettersson told The Athletic over the weekend. “The experience made me want to work even harder this summer.”

Since Canucks training camp opened in Whistler three weeks ago, Pettersson has carried himself a bit differently. He’s been dialed in on the ice, even at practice, but in a more restrained way than he was in his first couple of NHL seasons.

He’s been diligent in his media availabilities, but also careful. When given the opportunity to revisit how a wrist injury played a role in his slow start a year ago, for example, Pettersson has rejected the premise of the question — never mind that his shot looked completely different in the first 30 games than it did over the final 52.

Pettersson has spoken of how there were two versions of himself last season, but that’s only in regard to his on-ice performance. It’s not something mental that he spent time grappling with, trying to square away this offseason.

 

Elias Pettersson. (Bob Frid / USA Today)

No, Pettersson is 23 years old now, and he’ll be 24 in November. He’s grown up in the withering spotlight of the Vancouver hockey market and is now entering his prime. And as he’s matured, he’s discarded some of the distractions of prior seasons, in favour of putting in the work to be harder to play against.

The media spotlight, unfortunately for us, appears to be among those unnecessary distractions.

“I’m not going to try and give you a headline,” Pettersson responded this weekend when asked what he wants fans to know about where his game is at — and where he is at — going into this season.

“Come on,” I beseeched him in vain, “you should always try to give us a headline!”

“Nah, the headlines are more annoying to deal with,” Pettersson laughed. “I feel good, I’ve had a good summer of training and I’m ready for a new season — as boring as it sounds.”

Whether the quote is boring or not is immaterial, when compared with the weight of this upcoming campaign. There’s a responsibility on Pettersson and his teammates to play winning hockey, and that can only really occur if Pettersson is at his imperious, assertive best.

Whether he’ll say it or not, this is what Pettersson really wants Canucks fans to know about where his game is at — and where he is at — as a new season dawns. That he’s put in the work. That to him, winning is everything. That he can’t really tell you anything relevant anyway, it’s something he’ll have to show you once the puck drops.

“I didn’t really go on vacation,” Pettersson said of his offseason. “Right after the season I went to Miami, I watched F1 and then I took a couple weeks off when I got home — then it was all training and working all summer.

“I spent more time doing ice practices, more time on ice with different skills coaches, focusing on my skating and puck protection. That’s what me and my trainer agreed on. He sets the schedule, it’s a mutual process, what we want to work on, then he sets out the plan.”

His regimen focused on adding power to his stride. On being able to withstand checkers better, to remain on his feet and win more battles.

The plan included a strict diet, targeted to help Pettersson put on weight.

“I’ve learned that the food, the stuff I put in me, is as important, if not more important, than the workouts,” Pettersson said of his offseason diet. “Especially for me, who wants to gain muscle.”

Consistent with his under-the-radar approach, Pettersson declined to “give a number” for his current weight, not that we asked for it directly, but noted that he “definitely feels and looks stronger.”

This is important to Pettersson. The overarching theme of his summer training, of what he’s trying to become, is a more well-rounded player. We know he can score, and be a disruptive forechecker, and make plays, and command a level of gravity on the power play, opening up passing lanes for his teammates by his very presence on the right-side half-wall. We also know now that he can kill penalties and check effectively in high-leverage situations late in games — he proved that last season after the coaching change.

To take that next step though, Pettersson knows he has to be heavier — both literally and stylistically — on the ice.

Off of it, ironically, Pettersson seems to want to tread more lightly. To focus solely on his performance, rather than brand building.

“Everyone likes the attention when you play good, but I’ve just learned — or not learned — but I’ve realized that the more I think about what other people think, the more I look at social media …” Here Pettersson trailed off, and gathered his thoughts.

“When I got here, everything was so big compared to what I was used to back home,” Pettersson continued. “Now I’m not focusing on it too much. I know if I play good and if I help this team win, that’s all that matters. It’s great when people say good things about you, but it doesn’t really matter compared to the guys in the locker room.”

So there will be fewer headline-grabbing quotes. He’ll take a more serious tack in postgame scrums and interviews. You’re not likely to see Pettersson posting a highly-produced hype video on his Instagram.

“I don’t want to be on social media as much, I don’t think it matters as much as I maybe thought it did a few years ago,” Pettersson said. “It might not look like I’m having as much fun, but it’s been a lot of fun back home this summer. Just focusing on training and stuff.

“I think I’ve just realized that the more low key I am, the less I have to worry about. I was posting a lot after the COVID season and it was great, I don’t regret what I was doing, but I realized that it was a lot. I was thinking about it all the time. Now I don’t really care.”

Letting go of the inessential is a key part of growing up, which is perhaps why Pettersson doesn’t want to talk about last season. That’s fair enough. As of today, after all, this season is what matters

[48MPHSlapshot]

3 hours ago, AnthonyG said:

Tell me, since Beagle and Roussel and Eriksson who were all signed through a rebuild, how many other bad signings came after that? Hmm please enlighten me.

Ferland, Myers, Poolman, Dickinson, Garland, Halak, Holtby. 

[AnthonyG]

17 minutes ago, 48MPHSlapshot said:

Ferland, Myers, Poolman, Dickinson, Garland, Halak, Holtby. 

lmao grasping at straws bud. Myers has been rock solid this year and if you go look at his defensive numbers throughout his time here, he was been one of the most reliable guy’s defensively. Not his fault hes paid 6mil and they choose to use that 6mil player defensively rather than offensively. You go look at his contract and start comparing him to guys around the league, his 6mil is great value. Last night QH and Hronek allowed 10 high danger attempts 5v5. TEN FUCKING HIGH DANGER ATTEMPTS. Myers 3. Who made Demkos job easier? Myers or those 2 defensive disasters? They continually allow more high danger attempts each game than the shut down pair. How do you allow so many high danger attempts when your deployment is offensive???

Halak and Holtby were short deals lmfao and high pedigree players brought in to help shape Demko into an elite goalie at the NHL level. Instead of tossing him into the fire and finding some cheap ass plug to back him up. 
 

Its the exact same reason Sundin was brought in. To bring experience to the locker room.

 

Ferland and Poolman are what this team lacked. Size and grit. Not all signings are home runs. Your expectations of every first rounder and every signing being a home run is unrealistic. Even then woopty-doo what did either of those guys on LTIR cost us in the end?

 

Garland had value after 2021-22 he could have been moved, this current management group believed in him and wanted to keep him. 
 

You act as if these are 7,8,9,10 million dollar deals lmao. You’re literally resorting to crying over bottom 6, bottom pairing and back up goaltenders being signed and none of these guys were signed long term. Nothing over 5 years. 
 

I dont see a Seth Jones, Jonathan Huberdreau, Darnell Nurse kinda contract anywhere. Those are fuckin bad contracts that ACTUALLY have a significant impact on cap flexibility.

[LillStrimma]

7 hours ago, AnthonyG said:

When you are in a fuckin rebuild YOU ARE GOING TO HAVE TO OVERPAY. Do you not get that? Who the fuck wants to play in a rebuild??? 

The year the twins retired he overpaid for guys like Beagle and Roussel. 
All of the sudden, Pettersson makes an impact right away, the following season, Hughes and Miller come in and are a MASSIVE impact to the core/future.

Tell me, since Beagle and Roussel and Eriksson who were all signed through a rebuild, how many other bad signings came after that? Hmm please enlighten me.

through a flat cap we managed to re-sign Petey, Hughes, Demko, Boeser and signed them at absolute steals of a deal.

So all of a sudden you turn into the HockeyGod or what his name is.

Damn it, my ears started bleeding by your shellshocking words.