Quote:
Originally Posted by GreenLantern2814
Nobody outside the top 3 is NHL ready this year, according to Burke. Five years from now, I don't want to be lamenting passing on a Kane/Panarin style combo like Bennett-Keller so we could draft someone who was tall.
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Didn't Kane/Panarin just get bounced in the first round of the playoffs? We made it further last year than Chicago did this year. Shouldn't the Flames be aspiring to be something better than that? Maybe having elite small forwards doesn't necessarily make you a better contender in the playoffs?
Why did Chicago fail this year? Arguably it was lack of defensive depth. NSH, STL, SJ, these teams all have elite defense cores. Why did Dallas fail this year? Arguably defensive depth and goaltending. The two highest scoring teams in the league are out of the playoffs (DAL/WSH). WSH arguably lacks a true #1 dman. The strategy of outscoring everyone else in the playoffs seems to fail every year.
Anyways just some food for thought. Perhaps we're underrating the importance of defensemen and overrating the importance of wingers. Maybe the Flames should be looking to draft the top defenseman this year? I dunno.