Quote:
Originally Posted by oldschoolcalgary
Eberle? Kessel?
this is where i think you are subtly adjusting your argument to suit you narrative.... Eberle's contract sucked off the hop and is a case of Oilers Oilering... Kessel was a malcontent who cashed in early in his career.
How much do you think Johnny Hockey would fetch on the open market? or Drouin? or Kucherov?
The draft is a crapshoot, even for big players and defensemen, there is now guarantee they make it either.
You can make the argument that wingers are the most over rated player set when you cherry pick wingers that are over rated... Your argument does hold much water when you actually substitute wingers that have similar value to #2 DMen...
Is a franchise DMan more valuable than franchise winger? I can see arguments both ways... but the discussion starts when you at least make an attempt for an apples to apples discussion.
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I still don't think Gaudreau, Drouin or Kucherov are worth as much as a franchise centre or a top pairing d-man. But yes, those are more attractive players overall.
I used Kessel and Eberle because those guys are good examples of goal scoring wingers who got paid and then hurt their teams ability to compete because of how much of the cap they take up. I've thought similarly in the past about the deals that Kovalchuk signed, Nash had in CBJ, Heatley, etc. A lot of times the best goal scoring wingers get paid huge and in a cap system the amount you have to pay them ends up being more than how much they actually drive your team.
My point is that it is easier to be a contender if you have elite centres and elite defensemen. And in a cap system there's only so much money to go around so spending a ton on wingers limits your ability to pay your goalies, centres and defensemen. I think history has shown that elite wingers rarely lead their teams anywhere. Look at the top goal scoring wingers of the last decade and add up how many cups they have. It's pretty telling. Then do the same for franchise centres and franchise d-men and its obvious what type of player you should prioritize in the cap system.
Not everybody will agree. Goal scoring is sexy. Goal scoring wingers are essential in pools but IMO less essential for actually contending for a cup. It's just my philosophy after I've watched the various 40-50 goal scorers struggle to lead their teams anywhere over the last 20 years of watching hockey. Heck here we had Iginla score 50 one year where we missed the playoffs IIRC. We struggled to compete without a franchise centre and without a franchise dman.