That is something to consider as well. If management essentially canned this core when it became apparent to them that Quit would pull a Tkachuk/Gaudreau, there would be a lot of explaining to do when they hyped this bunch as the new core to carry them to contention. There would have been a bit of dirty laundry from the dressing room to air in order for any of those moves to make sense to the fans. It also would have meant telling the fans that they were going back to the drawing board - albeit perhaps further along than where the organization is starting today.Hockey Widow wrote: ↑Wed Apr 29, 2026 10:33 pm And it helps explain so many of their moves. They were desperate to win while he was here. The worst thing that happened was us winning the Pacific. It allowed them to think they were close. But imagine where we would be organizationally if we dealt him 2 years ago along with JT and kept our 1st and second round picks.
Of course we fans would have blown a gasket because none of this was out there at that time.
That said, it's worth arguing that they would be in a better position today if they had ripped the bandaid off earlier. For every redemption story about patience with players, there are as many or more stories where teams should have cut their losses early. In this case, management should have shit-canned this core the second they thought Quit was going to bolt while Petey was too busy 'working on his brand' to train properly in the offseason.
