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Originally Posted by GioforPM
Frankly, what team is in better shape - a team with a handful of rookies who have demonstrated NHL ability or a team with a handful of guys who might do that (or might not).
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In terms of where they'll finish in the standings this year? The first team. In terms of the talent they'll be able to inject into the lineup in the future on cheap deals? The team with more guys who haven't graduated. It's not like Pronman is saying this list shows who will be the best team in the league in five years. At best, it's a ranking of who is likely to have good new players injected into their existing lineup in the next 2 seasons or so.
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I'd bet a decent amount on the following: Kailer Yamamoto will never be as good as Dillon Dube. Ethan Bouchard will never be as good as Juuso Valimaki. Despite draft positions and all that nonsense.
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I think I agree with this, even though I'm not that high on Dube. Meanwhile Valimaki looks like a real long term NHL contributor at the very least and possibly a long-term top 4, while Bouchard can't skate (which seems like an important skill for a hockey player to have), so that's a pretty easy bet to make.
Anyway, I just think people need to get over it. No matter where you set the bar, I doubt the Flames would be higher than 20th. Given that they won their conference last year, that's not something to get too worked up about. Just suggests that they should try to stop trading away first and second round picks and re-stock the cupboards a bit.