[Sylvanfan]

Pittsburgh for the most part has been a deadline buyer for a lot of years which has depleted the draft pick stock to a certain extent. So they have had to go the NCAA free agent route to find players to an extent that other teams would have used draft picks to acquire.

I do think teams like the Rangers and Penguins and Blackhawks do have a bit of a leg up on other teams when it comes time to sign college free agents. Most players will jump at the chance to play with top end players or live in New York. So I think they have recognized it and allows them to be a bit more liberal in trading draft picks for immediate help.

But I can't say I'm convinced that this is a strategy that every NHL team should be looking to duplicate.