It's hard to call it a rebuild when they haven't knocked down any walls. The only trades have been the equivalent of adjusting the deck chairs on the Titanic.
It's hard to call it a rebuild when they trade picks instead of stockpiling them. The Karlsson trade is killing me, and Guentzel's conditional picks have some awfully large conditions attached.
It's hard to call it a rebuild when nothing has changed and nothing is being built. Malkin is still here, Letang is still here, the coaching staff is still mostly here, and bringing in Karlsson was the equivalent of hanging a picture over a gigantic hole in the wall.
It's nothing more than a redecoration. A coat of paint won't turn a dilapidated shack into a mansion.
At least in the early 2000s, we had low expectations. We knew the cupboard was bare those years and for me being a Browns fan already it was easy to embrace the suck. I don't think anyone has expected the last six seasons of mediocrity (and less).