It's early, but you can kinda draw a pattern to his assessment if you look at the last three years (with this current season counting as an in progress year).
Y1 he added cheap depth and filled clear holes with role players, not specifically star-chasing.
Y2 he chased stars who, seeing how successful the Rangers were, wanted on.
Y3 he added cheap depth and filled clear holes with role players again (even though he was in on stars).
Whether he saved himself from himself or was saved from making costly adds again, this feels like the right formula.