Quote:
Originally Posted by InternationalVillager
How many times did Washington keep bringing back the same core before Ovechkin won the Cup?
Silly argument. Just because you don't win one year doesn't mean you can't win with the same team. It's all relative to the rest of the league.
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Not disputing this fact but the Capitals cup win is actually an interesting one to look at when it comes to the Oilers roster build.
Lets say Ovechkin / Backstrom / Carlson / Oshie are your McDavid / Draisaitl / Bouchard / Hyman ... very similar ages when they won to what the Oilers will be over the next 2 seasons.
Niskanen/Orpik kind of brought the veteran leadership on that d-core that Ekholm brought in. Skinner and Holtby are similar ages but Holtby was much more proven at that time.
But what pushed that Washington team over the top was the younger guys they had that started to create another layer of success:
Orlov: 26
Kuznetsov: 25
Connolly: 25
Smith Pelley: 25
Wilson: 23
Stephenson: 23
Burakovsky: 22
Vrana: 21
It was the younger bodies they were able to add to the veteran core that finally got them over the hump.
It was the same thing with the Penguins second and third cups.
Crosby / Malkin / Letang / Kessel were kind of the McDavid / Draisaitl / Bouchard / Hyman equivalents.
But what pushed those teams over the top were:
Cole: 26
Rust: 23
Sheary: 23
Dumoulin: 23
Maatta: 21
Guentzel: 21
When I look at the Oilers roster they traded/lost their similar pieces who were under 27 years old...McLeod, Broberg, Holloway, Foegele are all gone. The only pieces under 27 that look remotely close to bringing what those names brought for Washington are Bouchard (who I already included as part of the core) and Savoie (if he pans out).
Since drafting McDavid in 2015 here are the Oilers skaters (non-goalies) taken in the top 2 rounds with the ones that remain with the organization in bold:
Puljujarvi, Benson, Yamamoto,
Bouchard, Mcleod, Broberg,
Lavoie, Holloway, Bourgault, Schaefer,
Akey,
O'Reilly
8/12 are gone.
Re-signing Draisaitl and McDavid isn't going to hurt the Oilers, what will hurt the Oilers is the pipeline to fill out the roster is completely dry, and not just because they lack picks now, but because the picks they made from 2016-2024 aren't going to help either outside of Bouchard and maybe one of the other guys (O'Reilly, Lavoie, Akey)