IMO drafting and player development is by far the most important part of building a contender. I think drafting well past the first round and having a strong farm system blocks teams from making bad trades and bad signings because you have the depth you need in your farm system.
I also believe you need to trust the farm system to fill out your roster. Even if your not certain that they can. Give them a chance because no cup contending teams can consistently spend millions on 4th liners and 3rd pairing dmen. Guys that play 10 mins a game should not be making 2-4 million per season.
If you can have 3-5 forwards and 1-2 dmen on your roster every year that make less than 1 million and can contribute it allows you to spend on your core.
Also, buying out players is overrated. Retaining salary in trades is as well. You can't consistently be at the top with millions in wasted cap.
I don't agree that you can't spend on UFA's or trade picks early in a rebuild, you just can't get hosed in the deals. They are risky moves but IMO it's ok to do if you can fill out your roster through your farm team and the players you add are truly good players. I look at Vancouver and they eliminated the champs and are going 7 against the the top seeded team and they basically have traded high draft picks and signed UFA's when everyone said it was stupid. But when you draft well you can do this if you get the right players.
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