Brian Lawton

I felt like he backed that up.

I told you initially at that time I didn't love the short term because it did put a lot of pressure on the club.

No.

Connor McDavid, in my opinion, and I'm only guessing, is dying to win in Edmonton.

The team that drafted him to where his legacy not only started, hopefully finishes, but he wants to win in the worst way.

That's evident.

It was definitely further exasperated by what happened health-wise down the stretch.

But I, you know, I raised this as something that I thought as early as December.

You know, the season is a marathon.

It's not a sprint.

There's a lot of things that need to happen right now with a salary cap.

Not like it used to be in the early 2000s when you could have like six Hall of Fame players on your team.

The talent is more evenly dispersed.

In today's game, it's more critical than ever that you think in terms of each line.

And your fourth line needs to be able to beat their fourth line.

Your third line needs to be able to hold the other team's first line on some occasions in a playoff series in check.

It's not like the Detroit Red Wings or the Colorado Avalanche in the early 2000s when you literally could just go out and buy what you want.

There was no salary cap.

The rules were different.

In today's world, every single signing matters.