Quoting: McRanteskog
It’s not too late all at, team has kinda lost some of its “shine”. Last preseason I was telling everyone to watch out as I expected last season to be Ottawas “coming out party”. Fast forward to Norris’ season ending injury, then Talbot flopped, then the Formenton ordeal, then the DeBrincat fumble, then the Korpisalo signing, now the dark cloud hanging over Batherson (just doesn’t end)
The shine has worn off because Dorion has been mismanaging this thing to an unprecedented level since the 2020-21 offseason
After one of the greatest drafts in NHL history (Stutzle, Sanderson, Greig, Kleven and possibly Jarventie, Sokolov and Merilainen), this is what happened :
- Traded a 2nd for Derek Stepan who had a 6.5 AAV dump contract
- Let Anthony Duclair walk for nothing as a RFA
- Drafted Tyler freaking Boucher with a 10th OA pick
- Traded Filip Gustavsson for a 35 y/o UFA-to-be goalie
- Traded Nick Paul for Joseph + 4th, pissed Connor Brown who then asked to be traded (only got a 2024 second)
- The DeBrincat debacle, downgraded a 7th OA pick in 2021 to a possible late 1st in 2024 or 2025
- Kept an inefficient coaching staff all that time (can't instill 2-way hockey systems)
- Spent 2nd + 3rd + 4th + 7th to repair past mistakes (Zaitsev contract + 75% of Murray's contract)
- Spent a 3rd on Hamonic (Canucks asked for a 4th but we didn't have one!)
- bought out Bobby Ryan (that we still pay) and signed Dadonov with the money freed. It would have been better to just keep Ryan
- Del Zotto contract that he had to buy out before the end of the 1st season
There is more but those should be enough to give you a good idea (and you're right that Korpisalo could be the next move to blow up in Dorion's face)