You make it sound like the Habs have been horrible every year. Last year they had 44 wins 30 losses and 8 ties. Are you telling me that's a terrible record?
They traded Skjei because of the looming cap crunch which was only exacerbated by the Kreider extension. Their GM had said they weren't going to led the record dictate their activity (although they didn't move Jesper Fast). I really didn't like that deal for them - I think they could have done better at the draft.