To start off they need to fire CJ. It should of been done last season.
In addition you can't win/nor even make the playoffs, with this core any longer.
I would trade Chara, Krejci and Rask out of the Eastern Conference . You get at least 1 #1 calibre D, and a few other really good players.
Give the "C" to Bergeron. Marchand also had a tremendous year (37 goals).
Sweeney (and Neely) are on the hot seat.
It will be ugly to watch another ugly presser of Neely/Jacobs in the next upcoming days. They might as well just replay last years presser right after the season ended.
Firstly, noone is paying chara's salary, and he has a no trade clause anyway. Krejci and Rask also both have no trade clauses. Also, when Krejci isnt playing due to injury, the team looks so ugly offensively its borderline unwatchable. Trading the craftiest offensive creator on the team to the western conference for a defenseman isnt a good idea.
Secondly, Julien is better than 25 other coaches in the NHL, you're not playing the odds by trying to get someone better than him from the unsigned pool of coaches.
This was always a bridge year.
Sweeney isnt on the hot seat. The lucic and hamilton trades ended up resulting in virtually no loss in performance compared to last year, AND we hoarded draft picks. 3 firsts last year and another 2 this year. The farm looks really good, it will just take a couple of years to come to fruition. Chiarelli left the team in cap hell when he left.
Glass half full I know, but this is what happens when you trade away two top 4 defensemen in consecutive years - generally a drop-off in defensive ability of the team.
do you want to miss the playoffs again next season?
Just keep the same team for next season?
Trading an overpaid, old defenseman with a no trade clause is nearly impossible.
Trading a 7 million dollar a year elite goalie to another team when hes got a no trade clause is difficult and probably a bad idea. Watching gustavsson in the final game against Ottawa should give you an indication of what this team might look like without elite goaltending.
Trading the best playmaker on the team for a defenseman is a bad idea when this team struggles with offensive creativity at times. It also sends a bad message to bergeron, marchand, etc who are legit studs in their prime to start ditching all their veteran forwards. They're already probably going to lose Eriksson.
Sweeney has them in a position to bring in a Shattenkirk type defenseman through trade with prospects and not lose any of the vets.
Also a chance of landing Jimmy Vesey for nothing who is NHL ready and has top 6 potential. Pastrnak and Frankie Vatrano have also made good strides this year and look like top 6 guys in the future.
Other top notch prospects who had great junior seasons this year :
Zach Senyshyn - Wing - Drafted first round 2015
Jake Debrusk - Wing - Drafted first round 2015
Brandon Carlo - Big Defenseman - Drafted 2015 - Could be the best pick of 2015
Jeremy Lauzon - Offensive Defenseman - Drafted 2015
Danton Heinen - Centerman - NCAA
Jesse Gabrielle - Wing - Absolute pest like marchand - Drafted 2015
Jakob Forsbacka Karlsson - Centerman - Shades of Bergeron in his play
Patience is key. We will be stacked once these juniors start trickling in. A lot of good stuff has happened this year in spite of the playoffs miss.
Dead weight that needs to go though:
Jimmy Hayes
Brett Connolly
Chris Kelly - wont be resigned
Talbot
Rinaldo