if you're not going to suck enough to get a top 3 pick, and/or you're not lucky enough to grab a franchise player or two with those picks, then the only other option is to load up with as big a quantity of picks as possible over a 5 year span, and trust scouting to hit on enough of them to have the same effect as drafting one MacKinnon.
unfortunately the Flames didn't really go that route either, hence middling borderline playoff team with no clear path to elite status. I hope management going forward treats its draft picks like Smaug hoarding a mountain of gold, because I'm pretty sure we're not going to be in the Aatu Raty or Shane Wright sweepstakes.
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