Yeah it is because of the cap. Trading away a good player is one thing, not being able to resign players like Horvat or Kuzmenko because of OEL's and to a lesser extent Garlands contract is what will make it worse, and that doesn't even factor in Guenther.
Look at what this management has done in a year, not much. They can't gain any cap flexibility at all, it's literally hindering what they can do. Just wait and see how bad this roster will suck until OEL is completely off the books.
The thing that made the Neely trade bad was the draft pick, Neely for Pedersen straight up wouldn't have been that bad. Pedersen although never played for the Nucks in the playoffs is 3rd all time in playoff ppg. Neely much like Miller put up the stats but was suspect defensively, 92 pts one year and only a +10, he sat on the bench for one game. Neither won a cup iirc and there was no cap. It's definitely not as far fetched as you think. People just look at his goal totals, playing with one of the top passers ever, and Glen Wesley.