Quote:
Originally Posted by Street Pharmacist
There drafting is good. No first rounders combined with zero top 15 picks makes drafting hard
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The first round is important, but it's like the first round of the playoffs for the scouting department. The later rounds is where all the hard work of travelling, talking to coaches and staff and player viewings pay off. Just look at the gems Flames have gotten in the 2nd round onwards in the last few years.
If you're going to dump that much salary on Crosby, Malkin, Letang and MAF (and now Kessel) long term, then the only real solution is to have decent players on ELCs as a supporting cast. They can't really afford to otherwise; they can't make any splashes in free agency. So they have to trust in their scouts to bring in some young players that can step in and contribute - without being paid over the league minimum. But since all those older players are locked up long term, you have to move the performing youngsters out when their play deserves to be paid and get some decent assets back, and in the meantime hope that your other draftees are ready to step in too.
If your scouting sucks then this model won't work for them. The Penguins will be a perpetual playoff team with a core like that but they no longer have what it takes to win it all - their salary allocation has them painted into a corner so if their draftees don't pan out, it's 1st/2nd round exit year after year.