Matt Mlynarkiewicz (Fire Drury, Stearns)

The issue isn’t just the cap hit, it’s the refusal to move away from an approach that was nearly 20 years old at the time that resulted in no cup wins. “B-B-But the team in front of Hank wasn’t good enough!” Yeah, that’s the point. You build up a strong team in front of an above average goaltender and you win because you don’t want the play in your own zone constantly. You just want someone good enough to make the big stops when they’re needed. Look at the winners in the cap era. Carolina won 2 cups with goalies who weren’t anywhere close to elite level. Vegas won with Adin Hill. Colorado won with Kuemper. Washington won with a fading Holtby. Bobrovsky was well past his prime. St. Louis with Binnington. Chicago won with Niemi and Crawford. Pittsburgh won 2 with Matt Murray. Detroit with Osgood. Anaheim with a fading Giguere that was sheltered by 40+ minutes a game of Pronger and/or Niedermayer in front of him. Outside of Thomas, Vasilevskiy and Quick, no other goalie when they won was considered elite. Bobrovsky didn’t even get the 2023 Panthers into the playoffs, Alex Lyon did and Bobrovsky’s contract had been considered the worst in the NHL for years to that point, maybe second behind Huberdeau. You cannot build around a goalie and expect to win. Drury had well over a decade of evidence to show that it doesn’t work and despite the fact that he knew the core couldn’t get it done after losing to Florida (he acknowledged this by starting to deal them off) he ties himself to Igor by signing him to a desperation deal to save his job on the same day that he dealt Trouba away, which was the first step in dismantling the core. They should’ve went scorched earth right after the Florida loss, JT Miller should’ve never been brought back (I was horribly wrong about him) and you’d have a ton of cap space plus maybe even more higher picks to build around. Now the plan has to be McDavid, because he pigeonholed them into hockey purgatory, all because he overvalued the position that has been historically valued the least of all of the positions. That’s why no goalie has approached Igor’s AAV since. It’s almost 2 years now. Market hasn’t reset. The AAV’s of the goalies who signed after Igor are closer to Hellebuyck’s than they are Igor’s. The Hellebuyck trade should be an eye opener for many. A quantity over quality return for the only active 3x Vezina winner and only active Hart Trophy winner. But this fanbase will continue to argue that signing Igor was the right move while simultaneously complaining about: 1. The dogshit team in front of him 2. Poor cap management (LOL) 3. The lack of young high end talent (EVEN BIGGER LOL - hope those culture wins were still worth it) Sorry, no one wants to hear it, but I’ll say it. /endrant #NYR