Currently the best & worst rebuilds ongoing

[Optimistic Cynic]

Its amazing how getting the #1 pick and a chance to draft a generational player helps your rebuild.

Chicago would like to have a word with you.

 

[lakeshirts37]

Best: Utah, San Jose

Worst: The Atlantic division

Arizona/Utah has been rebuilding forever

 

[MNRube]

Whatever St. Louis has going is sneaky bad. Bottom 5 in goal differential and the help they have coming appears unlikely to move the needle.

I have never been a fan of Chicago’s rebuild either. They have a boatload of holes to fill and remind me of Buffalo of a few years ago where they are going to need to count on a ton of young guys to fill roles they aren’t ready for. They really need to strike gold in FA or hope one of Levshunov, Korchinski, Nazar or Rinzel etc becomes a real star

 

[McDonald19]

Despite having no draft lottery luck, I think the Ducks would be on the right track…if they had a good coach.

 

[Leonardo87]

What if Ducks just took Michkov though. I think Carlsson is a good player though so they don’t need to fret too much regardless.

Michkov was never an option for Anaheim.

 

[crab]

Last year the Capitals were very fortunate to make the playoffs. There were many games they got blown out and in the games they won it was really Lindgren standing on his head. It appeared they were going to be a team stuck in mediocracy for awhile.

They made some very savvy moves in the offseason and their young players really took the next step. They have been really hitting on their draft picks with none other than Leonard being very high. The team looks totally different this season and has carried the play for most games.

I was advocating for a full rebuild but they have seemed to have done a partial rebuild with great success and should be successful going forward with a great cap structure and some very solid prospects coming.

 

[winnipegger]

I'm old enough to remember the 14/15 sabres. I've never seen a hockey team that bad. And here we are 10 years later and they have only improved enough to be on the bubble.

 

[MessierII]

Buffalo is on rebuild #3 potentially if they don’t take a step soon.

 

[MNRube]

Michkov was never an option for Anaheim.

That’s ridiculous. They choose to ignore a clear BPA because of stubborn team policies and cowardice. Anaheim already had McTavish and Zegras as Cs, so it wouldn’t even have been an outlandish pick from a fit perspective.

 

[Voodoo Child]

I think Detroit has good overall pieces but Larkin-Raymond are more likely 1B centers than true top dogs. Buffalo is in largely the same boat.

Who knows what's going on with the Ducks, I figured Zegras would be a star and McTavish would be further along, but they've also got nice pieces at all positions.

I respect that the Habs are taking their medicine but they're a few pieces away from coming up. The Sharks are going to be in the basement for a while but drsfting high for 3-4 years will help them out.

 

[Czechboy]

It's hard because rebuilding teams tend to suck so it's hard to say if they are doing well when they are getting caved. However, I like SJ and Anaheim rebuilds the most. I think both will be back to prominence sooner than later (not this year obviously).

SJ picking up Askarov was such a good move. Plus some great draft picks. Anaheim has a beaut goalie too and some great draft picks and some very promising D for the future.

Worst is Buffalo/Detroit to me... I absolutely cannot explain why Buffalo is losing because I love the look of their roster. I think they are cursed. Detroit.. it's built on a lot of hope and not many current NHL players. The roster today looks quiet mediocre to me but I do love Seider and Raymond. I'm in the minority as I think Seider is in the Hughes/Makar tier and will eventually be nominated for a Norris once the team around him improves.

 

[KirkAlbuquerque]

Flames are going to be stuck in mediocrity forever. Zary and Coronato look like they will have solid careeers as top 6 guys. They have a lot of solid prospects. But, outside of maybe Zayne Parekh, no one trending toward elite.
The main issue is that they have Dustin Wolf who is going to steal wayyyy too many games and they will never bottom out.

But they’ll have a good goalie

 

[Leonardo87]

That’s ridiculous. They choose to ignore a clear BPA because of stubborn team policies and cowardice. Anaheim already had McTavish and Zegras as Cs, so it wouldn’t even have been an outlandish pick from a fit perspective.

Don’t think Michkov would have signed with Anaheim. There were very good players available in Carlsson and Fantilli for Anaheim. They didn’t want to take the risk. That is why he fell. Also, no offense, if Michkov was in Anaheim under Cronin he would not be producing like he is now.

 

[chris kontos]

La kings ensuring mediocrity for years to come with signings like englund as top 6 defenseman, big save dave rittich as starting goalie.
Marketing slogan: tradition moves us forward
What the hell does that even mean?

 

[BlueDream]

Whatever St. Louis has going is sneaky bad. Bottom 5 in goal differential and the help they have coming appears unlikely to move the needle.

I have never been a fan of Chicago’s rebuild either. They have a boatload of holes to fill and remind me of Buffalo of a few years ago where they are going to need to count on a ton of young guys to fill roles they aren’t ready for. They really need to strike gold in FA or hope one of Levshunov, Korchinski, Nazar or Rinzel etc becomes a real star

Not sure why you’re using this year’s goal differential as a way to judge the Blues’ re-tool. It’s a small sample size and they were doing fine until their best player (Robert Thomas) and their 2 best LHD all went down. Like yeah, obviously they’re going to struggle after how hard they’ve been hit by injuries already this season.

The Blues started re-tooling only a year and a half ago at the 2023 deadline. Since then they’ve brought in 5 first-round picks (Dvorsky, Stenberg, Lindstein, Dean, Jiricek) to go along with other young pieces that are on the roster or in the system (Thomas, Kyrou, Neighbours, Broberg, Holloway, Bolduc, Snuggerud, Hofer, Ellis, Fischer, Buchinger, Pekarcik, etc).

What happens this season really doesn’t matter, we were never expecting to be a threat. But the re-tool is not going “bad” at all. They’ve accumulated a lot of assets in a short amount of time and can sell again this season to accumulate a few more. Everything is on schedule.

 

[Byron Bitz]

Surprised no one has said The Ducks. At what point does their rebuild start to receive criticism? They once again didn’t take a step this year. Zegras and McTavish don’t seem to be developing that well.

 

[Mattb124]

Arizona/Utah has been rebuilding forever

Very true, but they were like the Oakland A’s in that management wouldn’t spend to get them through the rebuild. Now that Utah’s owners are willing to invest in the team, it can take that next step.

If the Sharks draft in the top 5 in the next draft, they will have the core pieces to come out of the rebuild strong.

 

[Byron Bitz]

Pegulas: “Well his rebuild failed so let’s fire Botteril, Alright Kevin time for you to rebuild the rebuild. Well the rebuilt rebuild failed so let’s fire Kevin and hire someone new to rebuild the rebuilt rebuild. “

Buffalo is on rebuild #3 potentially if they don’t take a step soon.

 

[Fantomas]

Don’t think Michkov would have signed with Anaheim.

Based on?

 

[Connor McConnor]

The point is that neither is as good as Bedard and its not really that close. And everyone knew that prior to the draft.

In terms of Michkov vs Carlsson, it think its TBD. But it could well be the ducks (and several other teams) made a mistake on Michkov. I think Carlsson will be a very good player - he's already doing some very good things but is raw and on a poorly coached team. Obviously, there was a lot of uncertainty about Michkov's contract status and the political realities. So hard to blame teams for passing on him.

The way Bedard's career has gone so far he's been a disappointment in terms of the hype. I was told this kid was going to be putting up 90+ points and 50 goals as a rookie. He's on pace for 14 in his sophomore year.

Agreed that he's got a better outlook than Leo or Michkov, but those weren't "generationally hyped" 1st OA picks. I don't see a big difference in Anaheim with Bedard vs. Leo. Leo is going to be a stud. It's the rest of the team building that has gone wrong. Not trading assets like Gibson/Fowler etc. when they would have fetched some good hauls looks like a mistake as well.

 

[Luigi Lemieux]

They still stink but I like the talent that Montreal and San Jose have accumulated. One more high end player each this draft and I think they're ready to start coming out of it. But that's the hardest part so remains to be seen.

 

[TheBeard]

I think the length of the rebuild so far needs to be taken into consideration.

The Sharks, two years ago were burdened with the worst prospect pool and a plethora of bad, unmovable contracts for several years. Now they have A/A+ prospects at every position and need to scratch and claw their way just to reach the floor. The only two heavy contacts are Logan, who looks on the verge of retirement, and Vlasic, who only has a couple of years left.

Obviously I'm biased, but it's hard not to be impressed with how Grier has navigated the rebuild in such a short period of time.

 

[Bjornar Moxnes]

It's hard because rebuilding teams tend to suck so it's hard to say if they are doing well when they are getting caved. However, I like SJ and Anaheim rebuilds the most. I think both will be back to prominence sooner than later (not this year obviously).

SJ picking up Askarov was such a good move. Plus some great draft picks. Anaheim has a beaut goalie too and some great draft picks and some very promising D for the future.

Worst is Buffalo/Detroit to me... I absolutely cannot explain why Buffalo is losing because I love the look of their roster. I think they are cursed. Detroit.. it's built on a lot of hope and not many current NHL players. The roster today looks quiet mediocre to me but I do love Seider and Raymond. I'm in the minority as I think Seider is in the Hughes/Makar tier and will eventually be nominated for a Norris once the team around him improves.

Buffalo has too many skilled guys that's the issue. Byram is a worse Chychrun as well. That trade was just a worse trade from the previous year.

 

[Finnen]

Worst



Best

 

[stephenball]

Last year the Capitals were very fortunate to make the playoffs. There were many games they got blown out and in the games they won it was really Lindgren standing on his head. It appeared they were going to be a team stuck in mediocracy for awhile.

They made some very savvy moves in the offseason and their young players really took the next step. They have been really hitting on their draft picks with none other than Leonard being very high. The team looks totally different this season and has carried the play for most games.

I was advocating for a full rebuild but they have seemed to have done a partial rebuild with great success and should be successful going forward with a great cap structure and some very solid prospects coming.

They might actually be pulling off the “retool on the fly” that is rare. Of their current top 10 scorers only 4 of them are 30 or older (Wilson being 30). Dylan Strome is 27, and the rest are 26 or younger. They’ve been patient in developing some young talent and if they continue to grow things are going to be looking pretty good.