Agree with the first part, disagree with the second.
"Slow decline" might be a worse description for "key players injured". Our problem has always been lack of a top 6 fwd, and ever since Ehrhoff left, a puck moving dman. Its just been more apparent these last 2 years. These qualities were, and are, just magnified more than ever right now when the absence of our top scorer has been injured, our scoring has dried up.
Adding to that, it was less apparent last year because the Sedins were forced to play a more defensive role and still scored at near PPG. We were a 1 line team. Playoffs showed that when the Sedins were shut down, the team was shut down.
However, the core still needs a tweak, as Higgins, nor Hansen, is a top 6 fwd. We're still in desperate need for one. In addition, Edler and Garrison has been MIA for quite some time now,, and Burrows needs to fix whatever he has going on.
Still, the horizon becomes less bleak when Kassian develops, the Sedins and the dcorps healthy, a more than obvious Booth buyout happens, and when Torts adjusts his system to suit his corps of players.