I'm a cold-eyed realist. I'll give the team 25 games to show what they're worth next year. If they are still no good then I'm cheering valiant efforts for losing causes like last year. I'd also definitely cheer against shoot out victories.
Say we land Ekblad this year, and a big time talent with a top 3 pick next year added to Gaudreau, Monahan etc. And I think we have a good shot to emerge into a contender. To me that's the lowest risk way to do it. And I care about a decade of winning hockey over one year of middling hockey and a misplaced sense of pride.
|