Quote:
Originally Posted by traptor
Each of the cup winners of the last decade had atleast one top 4 star player that they drafted around within 10 years of wining, except Vegas.
Vegas couldn't meet this requirement as they didn't exist. They did go out and acquire this star player in Eichel.
2024 - Florida Panthers - barkov
2023 - Vegas Golden Knights
2022 - Colorado Avalanche - mack
2021 - Tampa Bay Lightning - hedman
2020 - Tampa Bay Lightning
2019 - St. Louis Blues - pietrangelo
2018 - Washington Capitals - ovechkin
2017 - Pittsburgh Penguins - crosby
2016 - Pittsburgh Penguins
2015 - Chicago Blackhawks - kane
2014 - Los Angeles Kings - doughty
There were 40 players drafted top 4 between 2004-2014.
18 teams draft top 4. 8/18 of those teams won atleast 1 cup between 2014-2024.
12 teams didn't get a top 4 pick between 2004-2014. None of them went on to win a cup between 2014-2024.
Its definitely not a gurantee or even a requirement but it's a VERY strong trend.
A fully developed star player from the top of the draft helps alot with winning.
You can get these via trade and free agency but it's very rare for a top drafted star player to be available in their prime. The easiest way is to draft them directly.
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Again, correlation is not causation. I was only able to find 5 teams who did not have a top 4 pick between 2004-2014: Dallas, Detroit, the Rangers, San Jose, and Vancouver. I might add that although Dallas, the Rangers, and the Sharks did not win the Cup in the following 10 years, they were all Stanley Cup finalists. Every one of those teams believed that they were Cup contenders in that period of time, and every one of them traded away at least one first round pick during their window of contention, and the majority of them traded away multiple 1st and 2nd round picks (in 2010, Vancouver didn't pick until the 4th round). They were all in or entering their competitive windows between 2004-2014. Then, due to the cyclic nature of competitive windows, especially if i team is tanking to draft high, and if the time needed to build a Cup contender is 10 years as you suggest, they would have all been rebuilding between 2014-2024. There certainly seems to be a negative correlation between trading away 1st round draft picks and winning the Cup 10 years later.
Maybe the lesson is to hold onto your 1st round picks, even if you think you are a competitor to win the Cup, because it may improve your overall chances of winning in the long run. That, and of course, Vancouver is No Good.