I said it before and I'll say it now, Panarin was not the right fit for this team. The Kings were not positioned correctly to add him to their lineup. The Kings needed a lot more and by adding him, it did not change the outcome in a weak Pacific Division.
Adding Panarin was not going to get them past any team in the playoffs. With him they barely snuck in. The right fit would have been adding him to Tampa Bay or Buffalo, teams that are already good, that he could take to the next level. Now, he will flounder in a Kings uniform until he is traded. The Kings need a total rebuild, however, Holland will keep putting bandaids on this team until he leaves in two years. For Kings fans, these next two seasons will be brutal. After two years, we get to live through the total rebuild with a new GM. At least we will know what direction they are taking. You are right, it would have been nice to have Greentree in 2-3 years on this team.
From a strategic standpoint, adding Panarin is more about attracting outside talent than it is adding a band-aid. If the addition of Panarin fails to attract talent, then the deal ends up being much more one dimensional, but I am pretty certain he was brought on with a goal of building the future roster rather than just putting up points for a few seasons.
When I look at the moves Holland has made thus far, I am confident that the Kings will be better next season than there were this season.
I do think the farewell seasons, first for Kopi and later for Doughty, will be our worst seasons due to the nostalgia of playing a player on a line / in a position in which they no longer belong. Also silly moves like playing Laf at center (especially as L1 center), Armia on the top line, Laughton on PP1 are hopefully behind us.
Looking at next season, we have 4 forwards that can be considered top 6 (Laf and TO remain 3rd liners, imo, with potential to grow). That leaves us a need for, at minimum, a 2nd line wing and center (1st line Center being the stretch goal). Then we need to look at fit, as you mentioned. I'm assuming by fit you meant window, which we know Panarin's is short, but we still have a void in regards to who fits with Fiala and ultimately if we can find a right handed center that fits with Panarin. On D, we have a void as to who fits with one of either Ceci of Dum. This doesn't even consider upgrades we would ultimately like to see.
Fixing the above already catapults us forward, and, outside of a potential right handed L1 center, these are all moves Holland can pull off (hopefully without trading any draft picks as realistically we have roster players with enough value to move in order to pull these off).
That then gives us a 3rd line comprised of a combo of TO/Laf/Armia/Kuz/Laughton/Turcotte/Wright which should be able to contribute some goals while playing a decent two-way game.
Lee looks ready to come up and join the 4th line as an upgrade - which, beyond size, we also need to see more scoring from. Helenius projects to be better next season, with the third spot on the line TBD.
In goal, Keumper is likely gone which takes us a step back, but seems managable until one of our top tier goalie prospects are ready to come up.
People can argue this is not a playoff roster, or is a step back, but it will depend on who fills the open slots. What we cannot continue to have is 3rd/4th liners filling 2nd/3rd (sometimes even 1st) line roles next season.
I like the direction Holland is taking the team.
I do agree with you, though, on Greentree. That one does hurt.
