Quote:
Originally Posted by Vinny01
Look at recent examples:
Tampa- their top 3 picks were made in 08/09 and they win in 20
St.Louis- didn’t tank and took a decade to get over the hump
Washington- win in 18 and were picking high in 04-06
Doesn’t really line up with the argument you are making. Flames already have 5 players picked in the top 6 from 13-16 and they are not getting it done so not sure why it will definitely work if they do it again?
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Uh, it entirely makes my point.
Headman #2, Stamkos #1. It’s not a guarantee, but those two picks helped keep that team, alongside good management, in the playoffs and battling for elite status year after year after year until things finally bounced and went their way.
Washington, Backstrom #4, Ovechkin #1. It’s not a guarantee, but the foundation to keep battling year in and year out.
Where’s our Hedman? Our Ovechkin, Stamkos, Backstrom, Toews, Kane, Crosby. Why do we make excuses for this type of crap. We don’t have a stable of elite players. We don’t have an elite foundation. It’s why we suck EVERY YEAR.
It’s not about some cure all, instant get rich scheme. It’s about laying the foundation for true success. This team didn’t do it. Monahan at #6, is NOT a Backstrom at 4th, or Stamkos at #1. Tkachuk at #6 is not an Ovechkin at #1. We also hit a bad draft year with Bennett, that happens. And when you look back at it - why did we rush these players into the league? To help make the team better that season? Well bravo. We act like we aren’t the Oilers, but we do all the same crap. Maybe if we didn’t rush Monahan into the league, perhaps we draft 3rd instead of 4th and Draisaitl or Ekblad? Why did we sign Hiller in 2014? Why did we sign Raymond? Why not just embrace the suckitude? Mildly less short term pain for significantly more long term agony? Worried about developing a losing culture? It was already there, and we built on it anyways.
St. Louis is the only outlier. I’ll give you that. Why someone would choose the outlier as the path forward though is beyond me. St. Louis also had a very aggressive GM and traded very aggressively, oh - and had lightning in a bottle with an interim head coach and an ECHL goalie exploding onto the scene. How is banking on catching lightning in a bottle better than a structured building of a roster that takes multiple years to develop?
We don’t have the high ground on the Oilers. They’ve been just as “good”, if not better than us and they have the brighter future because they have McDavid and Draisaitl locked in long term. What do we have? A few more months before trade protection sets in on Gaudreau, a Monahan that is tumbling down the path of irrelevancy, and 0 bloody success to speak of.