Average NHL career is 5.5 years. At that rate, we need to graduate an average of 4 players per year to the big team! By that measure, we've been behind for years, which may partly explain why we've had to overpay free agents and empty the draft drawers to fill out the roster.
Now I get that this may be a good approach to keep a window open for a few years when you're a cup contender, but if that's not what the Flames really are at this time, then they really do need to address the slow turnover of talent.
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