Quote:
Originally Posted by PepsiFree
I'm not really arguing anything. I think every team is pretty unique and carries unique circumstances that determines what should be done. I think the only value of the Washington example is that patience pays off. You can list a million different reasons why they're that much better than the Flames, but we're also in a thread where a couple posters are suggesting that, at the first sign your guys can't get it done in the playoffs, you bail, or if they're not favorites, you bail.
Washington went through a stretch with Ovechkin where they went 1RD, 2RD, 1RD, 2RD, 2RD, 1RD, DNQ. That's 7 years where their best result was making the second round despite having a President's trophy to show for it. They went from "couldn't get it done in the playoffs" to not even making the playoffs. It might have been kind of consistent, but it was consistently underwhelming.
They won the cup with the same top player, same first line center, same top defenseman, same goaltending tandem and a few other of the same pieces they missed the playoffs entirely with. They didn't rebuild, they changed out the supporting cast over a few years.
The Flames have two division wins, two 1RD, 1 2RD, and a DNQ over the last four years. That's with coaching turnover and core turnover. I'm think it's more than fair to be patient and see what else this core can do. Make some changes around the supporting cast, bring in some young guys, see what happens.
|
Even if you want to eliminate context from each year the Flames are still a long ways from WAS. Even using a previous 4 years which is a bit of cherry pick that most flatters the Flames:
Miss
R2
R2 (Pres)
R2 (Pres)
Cup
vs.
R1
R1
Miss
R2
???
Over the 8-10 years, I think a better summary is:
WAS made the playoffs 90% of the time and were always very competitive -
within a bounce of R3 about 50% of the time.
vs.
CGY made the playoffs about 63% of the time and were somewhat competitive 38% of the time -
closest they got to R3 was a blown call and needing to protect a 5-4 lead for 6 minutes and then win a game 6 on the road and then win a game 7 at home...
I don't know exactly where I'd draw the 'be patient' line, but there is a TON of daylight between those two histories.
Another key difference I'd point out that helped get WAS over the top was the emergence of a very good #2C in the final 2-3 years...and I really hate to give jj any ammunition for his lukewarm takes, but Kuznetzov was a 26OA pick from 2010 who started to pay off 5 years later. Maybe Zary will do the same for us, though if he had same trajectory he wouldn't be impactful until 2025-26.
WAS has actually drafted a lot of good players with picks in the 20s.