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SuperMatt18 · 09-03-2020, 04:16 PM

Across pretty much every thread this off-season there has been some great discussion about what is the right way to build a true contending roster. There have been lots of competing principles around if it's better to have a scorched earth rebuild vs retooling, focusing on trades vs drafting etc. But really there is no one answer on the right strategy to build a contender.

However to me there are 4 clear things a team needs to do well in order to build a contender, and remain in contention for a long period of time. IMO it doesn't matter if you try to remain competitive while doing a re-tool, or going full scorched earth with a full rebuild, unless you have a management staff that can execute on these four things.

It's a different sport, and I hate to say it because I hate the team, but it's a bit of the New England Patriots blueprint. Draft Well, Accumulate Picks, Know When to Sell High, Identify Targets to Buy Low, and they don't move high end picks (top 2 rounds) for short term fixes.

1) Draft Well:

Doesn't matter if it's a top 10 pick, or if you're drafting in the 20s every season. You need to be able to add at least 2-3 players each draft that will contribute to your team. Of course the more picks you have, the easier this is to achieve, but if you have lots of picks and still suck at drafting it doesn't help you.

This is where teams like Tampa Bay, Washington, etc have succeeded, and why teams like Buffalo/Edmonton/Florida have struggled even with high picks. Having a top 5 pick doesn't matter if you don't hit on any other picks in your draft.

2)Age curves are real and you need to know when to cut ties with assets:

This is where teams needs to be honest with themselves. Even if you are a contender or a team that wants to compete you need to know when to move on from assets or upcoming UFAs.

One thing I've come to the realization of is that unless the piece is a true top end elite talent you probably aren't wise to extend a player at 28/29 for 7-8 years. So you need to identify pieces that might buck the trend and are truly long term solutions (Guys like Crosby, Ovechkin, Malkin, etc were able to do this), vs guys that are on the wrong side of the age curve. Lots of guys might still look great at 28 but really they don't usually look good by the time they are 31. Benn, Perry, Voracek, JVR, Subban are all good examples of guys who look great at 28 and then aren't nearly the same players at 31.

3) Don't move Long Term assets for Short Term Assets / Non-Core Pieces:

This should be the general rule. It's one thing to move some assets for short term pieces when you're a true contender (top 5 team), or looking to make an actual run, but another thing to do it just to sneak into the playoffs. Honestly this is the biggest mistake the Flames made IMO.

Moving picks for a guy like Hamilton is fine, since he's meant to be a long term core piece. But moving multiple high end picks for 3 years of Travis Hamonic early in a contention window is ridiculous. Same principles in moving 2nd/3rd rounders for guys like Elliott, Stone, Smith, etc who were never long term answers. Those guys end up aging out and leaving the roster. And you don't have pieces coming up to replace them because you traded those picks to acquire the aging veterans to start with.

4) Don't Fill Out Roster with declining Veterans, but buy low on undervalued players with upside.

This one is tough to actually pull off in the NHL but each offseason there are always a couple of high picks or previously heralded prospects that move just because they either didn't fit in on the old team or because they were held back in their role by guys ahead of them on the roster. Colorado did a great job with it this offseason with Burakovsky and Nichushkin who've been great for them. Washington did it by buying low on Brett Connolly on their cup winning roster.

Not quite the same thing but even the Blues kind of fit into this criteria by buying low on a 26 year old ROR who's value was at an all time low.

So what are your thoughts? What do you think the keys are to building a contender?

09-03-2020, 04:16 PM	#1
SuperMatt18 Franchise Player Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: Calgary, AB Exp:	The Blueprint: Building A Contender Across pretty much every thread this off-season there has been some great discussion about what is the right way to build a true contending roster. There have been lots of competing principles around if it's better to have a scorched earth rebuild vs retooling, focusing on trades vs drafting etc. But really there is no one answer on the right strategy to build a contender. However to me there are 4 clear things a team needs to do well in order to build a contender, and remain in contention for a long period of time. IMO it doesn't matter if you try to remain competitive while doing a re-tool, or going full scorched earth with a full rebuild, unless you have a management staff that can execute on these four things. It's a different sport, and I hate to say it because I hate the team, but it's a bit of the New England Patriots blueprint. Draft Well, Accumulate Picks, Know When to Sell High, Identify Targets to Buy Low, and they don't move high end picks (top 2 rounds) for short term fixes. 1) Draft Well: Doesn't matter if it's a top 10 pick, or if you're drafting in the 20s every season. You need to be able to add at least 2-3 players each draft that will contribute to your team. Of course the more picks you have, the easier this is to achieve, but if you have lots of picks and still suck at drafting it doesn't help you. This is where teams like Tampa Bay, Washington, etc have succeeded, and why teams like Buffalo/Edmonton/Florida have struggled even with high picks. Having a top 5 pick doesn't matter if you don't hit on any other picks in your draft. 2)Age curves are real and you need to know when to cut ties with assets: This is where teams needs to be honest with themselves. Even if you are a contender or a team that wants to compete you need to know when to move on from assets or upcoming UFAs. One thing I've come to the realization of is that unless the piece is a true top end elite talent you probably aren't wise to extend a player at 28/29 for 7-8 years. So you need to identify pieces that might buck the trend and are truly long term solutions (Guys like Crosby, Ovechkin, Malkin, etc were able to do this), vs guys that are on the wrong side of the age curve. Lots of guys might still look great at 28 but really they don't usually look good by the time they are 31. Benn, Perry, Voracek, JVR, Subban are all good examples of guys who look great at 28 and then aren't nearly the same players at 31. 3) Don't move Long Term assets for Short Term Assets / Non-Core Pieces: This should be the general rule. It's one thing to move some assets for short term pieces when you're a true contender (top 5 team), or looking to make an actual run, but another thing to do it just to sneak into the playoffs. Honestly this is the biggest mistake the Flames made IMO. Moving picks for a guy like Hamilton is fine, since he's meant to be a long term core piece. But moving multiple high end picks for 3 years of Travis Hamonic early in a contention window is ridiculous. Same principles in moving 2nd/3rd rounders for guys like Elliott, Stone, Smith, etc who were never long term answers. Those guys end up aging out and leaving the roster. And you don't have pieces coming up to replace them because you traded those picks to acquire the aging veterans to start with. 4) Don't Fill Out Roster with declining Veterans, but buy low on undervalued players with upside. This one is tough to actually pull off in the NHL but each offseason there are always a couple of high picks or previously heralded prospects that move just because they either didn't fit in on the old team or because they were held back in their role by guys ahead of them on the roster. Colorado did a great job with it this offseason with Burakovsky and Nichushkin who've been great for them. Washington did it by buying low on Brett Connolly on their cup winning roster. Not quite the same thing but even the Blues kind of fit into this criteria by buying low on a 26 year old ROR who's value was at an all time low. So what are your thoughts? What do you think the keys are to building a contender? Last edited by SuperMatt18; 09-03-2020 at 04:19 PM.