[traptor]

I look at the islanders as the dallas model without the same kind of draft luck and a more realistic scenario to the approach the flames want to take.

They retooled on the fly after missing playoffs a couple times and losing tavares. They never bottomed out.

They kept some vets in lee, nelson and baily.
Had some young drafted guys step up lole barzal, dobson and sorokin.

Then made some trades to fill holes with romanov and horvat.

No massive lottery lock but hit of some key picks.

Have they been successful in their approach? It's hard to say.
They've actually had some decent playoff success but I never feel like their legit contenders.