Quote:
Originally Posted by Corral
With McDavid entering his prime years (mid 20s) after the next two seasons - its hard to understand how their window will close then. Its OK to pretend he isn't going to be able to lift a team close to a championship, but in all likelihood that is what he is going to do. Its back to the the 1980s for the BOA. Can the Flames assemble an all-around better line up to beat the Oilers who have the best player in the NHL. Game on.
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I really don't think in this day and age that one superstar or even two will ever lift you to a cup or even a highly competitive state.
In the old days a Gretzky as a generational player was heads and shoulders above every one else in terms of skill sets. I believe that the difference between a generational player and very good players nowdays is a lot slimmer.
I firmly believe that depth is king. The Pens won cups with Malkin and Crosby but had a great supporting cast. The same with the Hawks. Do the Oilers have that supporting cast right now? I don't believe that, and its going to get a lot more precarious.
As Gaudy as the Oilers are in terms of top end talent in McDavid, Draisaitl and Talbot, the Flames have and are going to have depth in spades over them, plus the ability to add on because of their contract structures.
As of today, the Oilers are pretty much out of the free agent business for the next bunch of years.
The Oilers are a team that is going to struggle to improve because they're still at its heart not a very well constructed team that had everything just work out for them last season.
Drisaitl had a great second round against the Ducks but had a over 20% shooting percentage, that's the ultimate in unsustainable, he's been a hot and cold player throughout his whole career.
The other thing that I would worry about with Draisatl is the relaxation factor. He was pretty inconsistent with some really bad stretches leading up to last year, and then he exploded in his contract year. That's a bullet that needs to be sweated.
The smart move by Chia would have been a shorter term at decent money prove yourself contract, that would allow you to buy UFA years later.