You need to win with above average players in the league. The statistically best way to do this is to draft high. Top players are rarely traded or hit UFA. If they do hit UFA they often are past their prime and are no longer cost effective.
So if you can pull a roster of stars from the 4th round you could build a dynasty. But at this point no one has proven they can consistently do this. Which comes back to the best way to get top talent is to draft at the top.
There are teams that have won or gone deep by working hard and playing a team game (Calgary comes to mind), but they are few and far between and are not consistently vying for a cup.
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