Quote:
Originally Posted by troutman
I should define what I mean by an "elite" first line forward. Someone that is a perennial all-star, a top 10 scorer and major trophy candidate. I don't see any players like that on STL, SJ, BOS or LA. Joe Thornton used to be that kind of player. Other than that, these teams seem to have many very good players, but no elite forwards. Many ways to skin a cat.
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If you look at the last 4 teams to win the Cup, all except for Boston (I'm excluding Seguin) had a top 3 pick impact player in the lineup. Doughty, Kane, Toewes, Crosby, Malkin, Fleury. It's possible build a contending team without these top picks, but it's much more difficult and requires extremely good (and lucky) drafting. Boston and the Detroit are good examples of building a contender through FA and the late draft picks. I'm not saying that having a top pick guarantees a contender alone, (as LA, Chicago, also Pittsburgh also have done well with their later picks) but it can make a difference between being a good team and being a cup contending team.
If the Flames are in the position to trade up and get that impact player in MacKinnon this year, then I really hope they do. It takes 2-3 years for a top pick to start playing an impact role, over that time they can add the supporting players through drafts, trades, and FA.