Quote:
Originally Posted by CliffFletcher
If the draft lottery doesn't affect on-ice success, then who cares if the worst teams get the top picks every year? If you're right, then it doesn't matter anyway.
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It does matter though, because as mentioned by a few others, it is player development that is the real key. If we keep handing over the best young talent year after year to teams that can't develop them properly, is that good for the league in general?
Quote:
Originally Posted by strombad
You're arguing that it doesn't help. You're wrong.
It does EXACTLY that: help.
High draft picks does not an elite team make, but for teams that put the work in it certainly helps the process. Good teams are built by astute management, but having high level players is a general requirement of being a high level time.
You brought up Detroit, excellent example. After years of poor drafting in the 1st round (save for Kronwall) and trading that pick, where are they now? They were elite 3-4 years ago, but they've been falling down to earth ever since because of the lack of young high end talent on their roster.
Drafting high helps. It's not how you build a great team, but to write it off as having no correlation is misinformed.
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I am not arguing that it never helps or that it can't help. Obviously it can, just like spending to the cap "can" help. I am just saying that the relationship between picking high and building a winner does not seem to be there, at least not any more so than other factors (i.e., competent management, player development, access to free agents and money). There is way too much focus on awarding high draft picks to bad teams.
Quote:
Originally Posted by CliffFletcher
Let's be honest. The reason we are facing a long and painful rebuild isn't because of a faulty draft lottery. It's because Flames management has been awful at drafting and developing young players.
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Bingo. And that is true with every team that fails continuously.