Long time reader of the forum but first time poster.
When Jim Benning let Markstrom and Tanev go (even Stetcher to some degree) we lost our true emotional leaders. To make matters worse we then lost Edler, Roussel and Beagle which all were certainly past their best before dates but all brought emotion to the team and leadership. We have no one other than Miller, EP (recently) and Garland who play with emotion as forwards and none of our top players have shown leadership other than Miller. OEL does on occasion so does Myers on defence and Schenn does as well but on a good team he is your 7/8 defence men.
my opinion is we need to trade Horvat, Boeser, Pearson, and Motte (need cheaper replacement only reason) at the deadline (I believe you get a better return than the offseason. During the off-season, resign Miller and clear rest of the dead weight.
Unrelated but has to be said, the bubble season and playoffs were not a true reflection of this core/team. Think about how the team came together after what happened with Markstoms, Stetcher and Boesers fathers… that team would lay in front of a Webber slapper to the groin to win for each other. This team won’t throw a few gloved punch’s after a bad hit on their team mate.
On my phone, so I apologize in advance for any spelling or grammar.