if there's one thing the oilers, jackets, islanders, panthers have tought me, it's that great lottery picks, doesn't equate to on ice success.
on the other hand, there are teams, that regardless of age of their core, etc, are able to continuously build playoff teams/contenders.
In that case, i'd be willing to put money on:
san jose - yes they're getting older, but their GM has proven he is able to find youthful talent, despite being a top western team year in and year out.
Philly - Holmgren is an aggressive GM, who has shown that he is willing to down the unconventional paths in order to get back to being competitive or staying competitive.
Detroit - i don't know much about their prospects, and they are going to be very different without arguably the best defencemen to every play on the roster, but their management/coaching has a way to build a strong team.
I'll through in Boston on that list also i suppose.
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