Quote:
Originally Posted by Calgary4LIfe
I 100% agree that teams shouldn't have to enter into a traditional rebuild if they are well-managed. However, even the Detroit model seems to have stopped being effective. Do you think they are a contender? A team doesn't have to be as awful and for as long as Edmonton has. People argue they burned it to the ground - but they didn't. They didn't replace their most critical areas before the rebuild started - management and scouting staff (though they have made moves in both areas since then, but seem to have no vision or philosophy other than what THN throws out at the draft).
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The "Detroit model" (actually originated by the Canadiens) depends on enough quality draft picks coming in to replace the aging veterans going out. The Wings are losing skill faster than they are currently acquiring it, thus the problem. A couple decades of terrible drafting forced the Oilers and Flames into full rebuilds for the same reason - the dearth of talent coming in completely overwhelmed the teams' ability to compete.
Vancouver's problem is that they are far closer to Calgary and Edmonton than they are the 90s Red Wings and 70s Canadiens. They struck-out completely in the 2007 draft. The only player from 2008 (Hodgson) they traded for magic beans. 2009 didn't turn into much (Schroeder, Connaughton). 2010 was a bust, and I have little reason to expect that any top end talent will be found from their 2011 and 2012 picks. So the Canucks are desperately hoping that Horvat, Shinkaruk and Virtanen turn into something, but these guys are probably 2-3 years away from being terribly useful NHL players.
Since we love the comparisons to the Flames in this thread, I would probably line Vancouver's 2013 draft with our 2011. They really want Horvat and Shinkaruk to step up and be great players. For us, having Granlund, Wotherspoon and Baertschi step into the NHL as players of quality would move our team forward in a hurry. Problem for Vancouver is they are behind us on the development timeline and I'm not seeing those guys as the types to make quantum leaps like Monahan did.