HOPEFULLY, this deal and firing McD is the upper management measure of cost saving. Id rather save there than on the players.

With this roster idk if it matters who the coach is

Cheap contract while things are tight for the next few years. Confirms the rebuild IMO. Stan and org seem to be high on him developing young players so goes along with the rebuild. I am not a fan of the extension, just my opinion on the why.

I’ll be honest, I took this the same way you did. Rebuilding and developing wise. However, I do have to question how well he has actually developed any players. Who has he left a mark on exactly? Dach? Not really, hawks didn’t even have to develop him. Boqvist? Eh, I can see maybe from the defensive side but offensively it kind of feels like Colliton is stifling him. Nylander? I mean, nope.

As I said, I thought the same way you did. However, as I look at it closer, I just don’t know if I believe he’s that great of a developer. Then again, neither is the entire organization really. On the off chance he does develop them, though, they will be more or less Colliton style players right? Does that exactly set them up to be successful with an actual winning coach?

I’m not sure how much Colliton has impacted development. Dach is a 3rd overall pick, he was going to be good regardless. Did he mature faster than expected? Yeah probably but why would Colliton get credit for that. Boqvist probably needed a year in the AHL so that’s iffy. I don’t think he deserves credit for Kubalik. He was already great. I’m actually pissed it took Colliton so long to realize he belongs on the top line and the power play. And now again this training camp Kubalik isn’t on PP1. Kubalik also didn’t deserve those healthy scratches early last season. Finally, what the hell happened to Strome and Debrincat last season? Seems like this “youth development” Colliton has didn’t come close to working on those two.

I kind of view it as a bridge contract during these rebuild seasons. Without any kind of inside knowledge, my opinion is Plan A is team improves into a contender with Colliton and they can extend him again if they choose. Plan B is wait 2 years, rebuild is over, and if an established top coach becomes available-it's not the end of the payroll to send Colliton packing. Kind of like what they did switching from Savard to Q even though it was mid-season?

While I wouldn't exactly call it Bowman's plan C, but plan C would be if team isn't improved/contending in 2 seasons, Bowman & Colliton are free to apply for work elsewhere.