[bluejays]

Originally Posted by gvitaly

12 years, but I disagree here. If anything, this shows that a team should stay the course instead of attempting to hurry a rebuild.

• Buffalo started their rebuild in 2011-12.
• They got a bunch of picks for players in between 2011-2014:
  • Gustard(1st)
  • Sekera(2nd)
  • Pominville(1st + 2nd)
  • Regehr(2x2nds)
  • Leopold(2nd+ 5th)
  • Vanek(1st +2nd)
  • Miller(1st + 3rd)
  • ...
• They didn't draft in the top 5 in the first 2 years.
• They drafted: Grigorenko(12), Girgensons(14), Ristolainen(8), Zadorov(16)
• They also managed to get guys like JT Compher, L. Ullmark, C. Petersen, but whiffed on the majority of their later picks
• In 2014, 15 they bottomed out: They got S. Reinhart(2), and Eichel(2)! Those are 2 great adds.
• In 2015 they pivoted, Rebuild is over: They traded the equivalent of 4 x 1sts, and 3 x 2nds
  • They got McGinn + ROR for Grigorenko(1st 2013), Zadorov(1st 2013), Compher(2nd 2013), and a 2nd(2015)
  • They got Legwand + Lehner for a 1st(2015)
  • They got E. Kane + Z. Bogosian for a 1st(2015), Lemieux(2nd 2014), T. Myers, J. Armia(1st 2011), and D. Stafford.
• Unfortunately for them they still sucked despite those moves
• 2016-2017: they mostly made lateral trades in an attempt to change the mix
• They drafted A. Nylander(8), and Mittelstadt(8), IMO the Sabers mostly had terrible drafts in both 2016, and 2017.
• 2018 restarted rebuild by trading E.Kane and ROR.
• 2018 Bottomed out - drafted another stud in Dahlin(1)
• 2019-2020 picked Cozens(7), Quinn(8)
• 2021 New direction - traded both Eichel and Reinhart for good players/picks, but essentially ending their 1st rebuild in failure.

I think that if Buffalo had better drafting, and didn't hurry the rebuild in 2015, they would be in a much better spot. The Sabers hit home runs on all their top 5 picks IMO. It's the latter 1st and 2nd round picks that they whiffed on.

Nice job on the research. The Leafs largely f'd up too when Burke came in to expedite the original rebuild. It's funny when the business guys come in thinking they're smarter than the average person and speak to the owners in the language they like - pushing results. It's all BS and you have to give it time and have to have the right core, and supporting cast.