This is a very important point. Emotional attachment aside, what sets the best teams apart is getting high value/dollar from the majority of their contracts, not by paying a collection of high-end players full-market value on new max-term extensions in their late 20's. Chicago is a great example of this - where they had to frequently purge supporting talent in order to sustain their elite core of Kane, Toews, Keith, and Seabrook during their competitive window, and they were successful to the tune of winning 3 Stanley Cups. That said, it's hardly a coincidence that once those 4 core players all concurrently started earning their high-end contracts the team hasn't won a playoff round since, and have only made the playoffs in 50% of those years. Worse yet, each member of that core are now between the ages of 30-35, and their contracts represent more than $33M/yr of cap space for the next 5 years. Kane is really the only one still worth the contract, and just happens to also be the youngest.
In the context of the Senators, I think people need to take a step back. An awful lot of people lamented Spezza leaving, but he's been one of the absolute worst value/dollar players in the NHL for the past 2 years... even on a deal that's considerably shorter in term than the one that most fans were clamoring for prior to the trade. Meanwhile, the long-term extension for Ryan has been one of the worst decisions in team history. Now I would agree that Karlsson, Stone, and Duchene are better players, however the point remains that paying them full market value for at least 2-3 years of bottom-dwelling chaos, followed by the uncertainty of how much they will all have left in the tank in their early-30's may not have been the best decision for a rebuilding team who instead might want to focus their attention on major long-term extensions for the likes of Chabot, White, and Tkachuk.
That said, I can't argue that it wouldn't have been nice to keep maybe 1 of the 3 around... if only for things like jersey sales, and promotional value.
- khawk
I think this is an A+ response.
In terms of team competitiveness the worst thing possible for the Sens over the last 5 years has been Melnyk's ownership. I also believe that the best thing happening in terms of the Senators future competitiveness is Melnyk's ownership of the team. His financial misery has forced a wholesale rebuild around draft picks and prospects. In 2-3 years we will see a team rich in young talent and prospects.
However, in order for the team to capitalize on this opportunity it will be essential for Melnyk to have moved on and given up ownership control to someone who can afford the luxury of owning a major league franchise.
