Quote:
Originally Posted by MrMike
Yeah but who considered O’Rielly/Schenn elite depth until they actually won a cup?
If Vancouver wins game 7 over Boston now it’s Sedin/Kesler, but they’re not mentioned.
If Bergeron/Krejci never win that one year, are they considered great regular season but not elite enough?
Ovechkin/Backstrom and lack of success before they finally got their cup.
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I don’t think a true elite #1 center guarantees you success, but I think it’s the easiest method to build a contender. But ultimately, Stanley Cup winning teams still need good depth and an identity.
I think the only thing that prevented St Louis from winning it all was was a #1 center and a half decent goalie and they got both in 2019. I also put Washington in a similar boat. Great team for years, they just needed that top flight center in Kuznetsov to build an elite 1-2 punch up the middle to match up against Crosby and Malkin. I think it was poetic justice that Kuznetsov also happened to score the series winning OT goal that eliminated the Penguins on route to their Stanley Cup victory.
The Flames are seriously just missing that dominant #1 center right now that can take over playoff games and playoff series. They have decent team, they just need that one big piece themselves. Is this offseason the one that takes the Flames to the next level? I guess we’ll have to see.