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Post being replied to

I'd assume blowing up the team means by Rick Sanchez

trading McDavid, Draisitl, and Nurse for futures and going back into tank mode. Anything short of that is probably along the lines of a "retooling". Also McDavid and Nurse have full NMCs. They're not going anywhere but to a contender, and any smart contender isn't going to blow up their own roster for either of them (especially for Nurse).

I'm trying to picture what a hypothetical McDavid trade to a contender would even look like and there's absolutely no way Edmonton would get the better end of that deal in the short and long term given his NMC. If McDavid didn't have the NMC it'd be a different story, but trading him would be an absolutely massive gamble no matter what.

I think a competent GM (i.e. not Ken Holland) could turn them into a legitimate contender this offseason, especially if Letang makes it to free agency. You're right, though, that as long as Holland is there they'll mostly get by on how much better McDavid and Draisitl are than 99% of the league.

I think there are coaches on the market that could squeeze a lot out of a Ken Holland Oilers team. Trotz and Cassidy, in particular, would be good hires. I'm assuming they'll just make Woodcroft the full time coach, though.