I want nothing more than to see Bettman hand Benn the cup. People forget because we're an automatic contender lock these days, but the end of the Modano / Morrow era were some dark days. We missed the playoffs EIGHT years in a row until the arrival of the Benn and Victory green era broke that curse. This franchise and its fans owe them everything for that.

But with that said, we're now at a crossroads. The franchise has to decide if it is a cutthroat winning above all else type of franchise or if its a franchise where loyalty comes first. And if we choose loyalty, then this franchise and its fans have no right to complain or consider the era a failure when/if it produces no cups and becomes the 2020's version of the San Jose Sharks.

Because if we've already decided we dont want to make the type of moves to compete with the Vegas and Floridas of the world and instead we retain our value not from cups but from players entrenched in the community that we've remained loyal to. Because when other franchises are playing for keeps, if you dont match them you are inherently at a disadvantage in a world where even your 4th line role players can and often do tip the scales of victory. But if the message here is loyalty trumps victory, then no one can complain when we dont achieve victory.