That lineup isn't exactly great

Not supposed to be great in a year where the team isn't exactly supposed to be great

I agree, but the signings don't really bring any sort of upgrade in this team...

To play devil's advocate, it's possible that Lou wants all of the prospects to not only develop more in the AHL, but also to develop locker room chemistry with each other before they make their first full season debuts. It's also possible that he wants tank as hard as possible this season, grab Hughes/Cozens/Broberg, then put Hughes/Cozens/Broberg on the roster next year along with a host of other well groomed and ready prospects from the AHL.

If that's his plan, he should fire Thompson, an AHL coach who ruins every prospect he touches (Ho-Sang, Dal Colle, Reinhart, Nino, Strome, Nelson). I think if we're going to get a line about the kids proving themselves in Bridgeport, don't set them up to fail when they're there.

--Devil's advocate arguments over--

**** this veteran priority bullshit, this is exactly why we've sucked the last two years and this is exactly why JT walked. Lou better not plan on doing this next year or Barzal will demand a trade at the 2020 TDL. And that Komarov signing isn't going to be worth it at any point this year or the next four years. Lou has been a massive disappointment so far. All we've seen from him are two good draft picks that fell into his lap after he inherited them from Snow. The rest have been unsubstantiated rumors about trading for a star and bad FA signings.

At least we have Trotz.

I agree with Lou being a massive disappointment so far, he's been exactly was Snow was. But honestly I didn't expect a drastic change, he's been a pretty terrible GM since the salary cap, it was just nice to see a fresh face but it clearly hasn't paid off in the slightest. The development argument I can see but there's some guys that absolutely have no business playing in the AHL, yet Lou thinks a guy like Luca Sbisa is better fit for the team, like come on it's just awful. Hopefully he finds a way to move some of these contracts because we're screwed in the future if he doesn't. Just laughable.