Except the inflection point was either the Eichel trade or the decision to once again re-rebuild. The team is on an upward trajectory. They'll be in the mix of legit contenders for a long time and depending upon how the next 2 or so weeks go, that could be opening up as early as this season or as late as 2 seasons from now. Right now am an optimist and expect Adams to be accelerating the entry into that contention window.
And, not that it matters, but it's cool that you do expect the team is very close.