Quote:
Originally Posted by Calgary4LIfe
I, for one, really hope that Vancouver is good enough to make the playoffs. Not just the 'almost' team at that 9th spot that is the supposed worst spot to finish. I want them to make it in the 8th spot, and lose in the first round.
The more often this happens, the more time it will take for that franchise to start rebuilding. If they finish 9th, suddenly they might become more cognizant of the fact that they need to do so. Besides, it is always fun to watch them lose as they get matched up with a competent western team.
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A lot of people assume that somehow a team finishing 9th or 8th and losing in the first round will result in a team trading away futures to improve the present. Not every GM is like Jay Feaster and most teams don't go for an Edmonton style rebuild. Benning is too new to predict, but the Canucks started the process of retooling on the fly a couple of years ago. Even here, if Burke and Treliving were here earlier, the team might not even trade Bouwmeester. The only reason this team would have traded Iginla was because he wanted a chance at the Cup. In other words, the Detroit model is still the most frequently followed model. It's about making the playoffs every year, playing an exciting brand of hockey, and drafting and patiently developing your own players. We've been lucky having been in a position to draft Monahan and Bennett but that wasn't necessary if we managed to draft and develop better. I mean you don't even need to go too far. What if instead of drafting Nemisz and Wahl we drafted Carlson and Stepan? What if the next year instead of drafting Erixon and Howse we drafted Ryan O'Reilly and Cody Eakin?