Quoting: rktkt66
Well, Granato and Adams also said they have 100% confidence in UPL and Levi as a tandem next year, joined by Comrie - but, as Lance noted in his 'Maintenance Day' podcast and on Twitter, he doesn't believe them because they didn't even dress UPL as a backup in the final 3 games.
Your reference to them being interested in Chychrun to the final hour - which Adams more or less confirmed after the TDL - further shows that, while they may really like Jokiharju and want to keep him, they also saw a need and were pursuing an upgrade. Had they landed Chychrun, he would have no doubt supplanted Jokiharju in the top 4.
Also, as was reported by several media and implied by Adams without naming specific players, they weren't interested in trading either of their top 2 prospects (Savoie and Kulich) in order to add Chychrun - that refusal only proves that they weren't going to pay a ransom for the upgrade but it doesn't diminish their understanding and desire to look for an upgrade. Just like may be the case this summer, they weren't desperate for an upgrade at any cost at the TDL if it meant robbing Peter to pay Paul.
he was also interested in jason robertson for 5 mins as an rfa. ditto timo meier. Thats nothing more than phone calls, not a pressing need to address any issues. they dont see any need for an upgrade unless its basically handed to them on a silver platter.
The reports after were total bs. The final deal was a pick that involved top 5 protection, and a future first. Thats all adams had to beat. Two unprotected firsts and chychrun is a sabre. Really all that worried about the team not being able to make sure that those arent top 10 picks? Especially after adding chychrun? Theyre not interested in making major additions at any point.
Drafting is the single most efficient way to keep people buying tickets without spending big money. This isnt a team thats going to move top prospects from nhl ready talent. Nor are they the team thats going to manipulate LTIR to get their spending into the top third of the nhl. They dont need to do that to get fans to keep watching the games. Its the one benefit to being as bad as they have been. Pegula can ice a 72 mil dollar team and make money from it.
Again, making a phone call is only proof that hes alive and doing the bear minimum. Doesn't indicate that they are committed to making necessary upgrades. Of course hes going to call, it's free!