That's true (kehatch's post) that teams won't rebuild until absolutely necessary.
But there is another factor as well: the difference between winning and losing is marginal and the same collection of players can have vastly different success from year to year.
That is why teams don't tear it apart as soon as they have an unsuccessful year.
The NHL (and any sport) is full of examples of teams that didn't work as planned but then came together in a later year.
Patience is a good thing for a GM. Fans hate it though, of course.
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