I think "at least a few more years" is exaggerating the amount of time it'll take for our young guys to round into form and contribute.
This season will be on par with last, if not a step backwards due to lack of high end talent up front. But next year Gaudreau, Granlund, Baertschi, Bennett, our 2015 1st rounder (let's face it, it's probably a better than 50/50 chance it's in the top 3) should all be playing in the NHL. If Poirier does well this season, he could make the jump next year as well. How long until that crop starts doing damage in the NHL? Well I don't know about this writer, but I don't think it'll take a few years. And if one of McDavid/Eichel joins that group? You can bet it'll be even less time. Many of these kids (minus Bennett) have already made large strides in their development and have shown ability to produce at the NHL level, which strengthens my point that we're closer than some might suggest.
Things are looking good, not for this season but the season after next I'd expect to see us start to make some noise.
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