This had only became a problem after Gillis decided he wanted to make his team "bigger".
CoHo trade was bad no doubt about it, I have high hopes for Kassian but I feel he will top out at 3rd liner. Sestito is slow doesn't really hit and I 'm pretty sure Steve Bennett* has more talent then him.
With the loss of Erhoff one could argue we have one of the slowest back ends in the league as made really noticeable in the Sharks game with Bieksa and Edler being pylon'd all night. Speed and skill kills, I.E 2011.
We lose in the Stanely Cup finals and Gillis feels the need to retool to a bigger team. I feel the Richardson and Santo signings make us faster but they aren't true 2nd liners but still a move in the right direction.