Quote:
Originally Posted by Caged Great
I believe that we should get two NHLers of the 3 1st round picks. Usually prospects like the ones that should be available at 6 should make the NHL, and the ones at 22/28 are 50-50 at best. After that, we should likely get one guy out of the rest (each pick from the 3rd through 7th is about 15% so we have a better than even chance that one could pan out)
Usually, you have to draft talent, rather than acquire it through trade. You can add depth pieces, like we did with acquiring Knight, through trade, but 1st liners rarely come to your team from anywhere but the draft.
The problem we face is that we have more than one need. We need the supporting cast, and we need superstars. The teams that have acquired the supporting cast first have had vastly larger amounts of success (Canes 06, Ducks 07, Pens, Hawks, Bruins, and Kings winning cups) verse teams that get the stars first (Panthers, Oilers, Blue Jackets, Islanders etc.). The only reason why I have been saying that we should try for the supporting cast types first, is that the results have been significantly better doing it that way verse going for the star guys right now. Being patient and building the foundation strong makes the entire organization better, which leads to more and better opportunities for trades and signings.
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This team hasn't had problems getting supporting cast over the years though... we've had trouble getting a #1 centre.
Recall Darryl Sutter's seven "20 goal scorers". Or back in the 1990s when the team always had enough 2nd and 3rd liners and defensive depth to hover above the basement and lacked a superstar to take them over the hump?
I think out of the 4 teams you listed, the Islanders are great example of what to expect actually. No one in their right mind should be expecting an ultra competetive team in the next 3 or 4 years (just as no Islanders fan should have expected Tavares to immediately pick the team up). They drafted Tavares and 3-4 years later are starting to show signs of being competetive. That is normal growth when starting from scratch as we will be. Now if Wang and Snow can use Tavares to their advantage and lure decent free agents. Good players want to play with great players and now that Tavares has established himself as a great player, it should go a long way to helping them add more pieces.
Even with the Flames, we had a lot more trouble luring and keeping good players before Iginla established himself. This is why so many rebuilding teams have false starts. If no one establishes themselves as a player to build around, the rest of the building process is more difficult.
With Edmonton, Florida and Columbus, I think it just goes to show you the advantage/disadvantage certain drafts have for producing elite players. All had their fair share of busts, so when something as close to a sure-thing as MacKinnon, Jones and Drouin come along, you need to try and capitalize on it as elite players are extremely rare (not every draft produces one IMO). To be fair to Edmonton, the jury is still out. Their young core is still in the early stages.