Currently the best & worst rebuilds ongoing

[FLAMESFAN]

The Flames rebuild was so good, it only lasted a couple months!

 

[Xirik]

It really depends on the fanbase, Some of them believed their team would be competing this year and it turned into a tire fire, Other teams have been wanting to "take the next step" for a couple years now and it never happens.

 

[SladeWilson23]

There's no doubt the Devils were down to a husk after Vanderbeek and Lou were gone. It took Harris and Blitzer along with Shero and Fitzgerald a good 5 years to get out from it.

 

[TheDawnOfANewTage]

Ducks and Sabres really battled it out last night. Evidence:

 

[benfranklin]

Other than 2010 they were truly competitive in 2020 and then Covid happened.
Giroux was incredible, my all time favorite flyer, but they failed miserably to build around him.

They've failed to make it out of the first round 11 of the last 12 years, and didn't make the playoffs 6 of the last 8, several of those years include Giroux

True, albeit comparing it to the Sabres who havent even made the playoffs lol.

They did not rebuild by finishing in the bottom 5 like most of the tank team. They pretty much stay in the middle. From the 2011 draft to the 2016 draft. They have successfully drafted a great player from Scheifele to Laine. They managed to stay a good team despise Winnipeg being in the ''no trade list'' of most of the NHL player list.

One of the best GM in the league.

I dont disagree there. Re-signing Scheif and Helle was a minor miracle, but they havent even sniffed the definition of a "rebuild".

 

[rahad]

True, albeit comparing it to the Sabres who havent even made the playoffs lol.


I dont disagree there. Re-signing Scheif and Helle was a minor miracle, but they havent even sniffed the definition of a "rebuild".

They did draft 4 times in the top 10 from 2011 to 2016. What made Winnipeg rebuild successful is drafting impact player. They did not draft a single ''bust', from 2011-2016 in the first round. There 3 best forward all have been drafted.

What made team stay in the bottom is bad drafting. Look at every draft. You will always find 1 or 2 bust in the top 10.

 

[RandV]

Canucks were putrid and never picked above 5, and made playoffs after 8 year's absence if you discount the fluke run in COVID. thats not a solid excuse. Good management makes a world of difference.

The fortunes of Vancouver vs Detroit basically hinge on a single back to back draft selection:

6. Filip Zadina
7. Quinn Hughes

Probably the most random part of a rebuild is getting elite talent(s). The best place to get this is at the top of the draft: McDavid, MacKinnon, Matthews, etc. But with luck you can get these guys later in 1st: Hughes, Pastrnak, etc, or even much later in the draft like Kaprizov or Kucherov. Or in the Rangers case they did it with FA getting Panarin and Fox.

But otherwise yes good management is probably the most important factor, though that's just 'good' management and not 'elite'. Between Eichel and Dahlen Buffalo should have been able to build a good team.

 

[gary559]

I like the job that Mike Grier has done, hated it for a while but really promising when you look at it longer term. Hughes has made some good asset management moves but I think Habs are kinda unlucky with injuries derailing careers and not getting high end talent with their high picks (Slaf is no mack, Reinbacher is no Makar, Demidov is a good winger on the tarasenko level). So they wont go anywhere after the rebuild imo. Chicago is too early to tell. Columbus is actually turning it around, I like their current rebuild but its also rebuild #2. Senators also on the edge of rebuild 2.

What I find interesting is that Grier has lost value wise on all of his major trades, but has done them at absolutely the right time which seems to have more than made up the difference.

 

[tucker3434]

All rebuild suck until a few prospects hit their ceiling, then boom, cup contenders. Kind of impossible to tell until those prospects hit though.

 

[Lou Bloom]

They found success too quickly after implementing Nylander, Marner, Matthews. If they bottomed out another 1-2 years they likely would have added a defender.

etc

2017 (Year after Matthews)
Miro Heiskanen (3rd overall)
Makar (4th overall)

2018
Dahlin (1st overall)
Hughes (7th overall)

Outside of 2013 (which was 21st overall) they hit majorly on their 1st round picks with Reilly, Nylander, Marner and Matthews all acquired between 2012-2016. How many rebuilding teams are hitting 4 for 4 on top 10 picks? The problem wasn't that they didn't bottom out another season, the problem was not being able to draft well outside of top 10 picks and not being able to get any major steals in FA or trade.

Colorado was able to get Nichushkin, Toews, Burakovsky and Lehkonen for cheap.
Tampa was able to draft Kucherov, Point, Cirelli, Palat, Killorn, Gourde and Cernak outside of the 1st round.

Outside of Hyman (who had an even bigger breakout with Edmonton) and two solid years of Bunting, the Leafs basically had to pay market rate for their players and didn't have any breakout talent that outperformed their contracts, trade price or draft positions.

 

[Matty Sundin]

flames are still technically rebuilding, they just over achieving right now. I can see them being a surprise playoff team but they need to build some pieces still and not enter win now mode like the last time when they had an over achieving season. So far it still looks good if they stay on course.

Ottawa is getting close to tearing it down again and rebuilding. Ducks have a good future though I think the coach is setting fire on mutiple floors to their rebuild.

 

[GirardSpinorama]

What I find interesting is that Grier has lost value wise on all of his major trades, but has done them at absolutely the right time which seems to have more than made up the difference.

Losing small tactical moves is not a big deal when you move in a consistent strategic direction.

 

[thefutures]

Grier and the Sharks, they started in one of the biggest holes I can remember, obviously long way to go but he has shored up prospects at all positions in 2-3 years without reaching or getting swindled in a trade

 

[Bouboumaster]

Worse is Buffalo, without question

They have been rebuilding for more than a decade, like, at one point it has to end

 

[archangel2]

Timing of rebuilds is the most important thing imo. Teams that were rebuilding ten years ago look good and did five years ago as well, teams rebuilding five years ago don’t look so good without overwhelming outlooks either. The big exception is Buffalo who messed up their last rebuild with bad asset management and that should have tanked harder in 2015-16 and 2016-17 rather than going half at it after fully bottoming out in 2014-15. So much is outside your control because you can’t control how impactful certain draft classes will be quickly.

Oilers look like crap--outside two players

Habs would be looking excellent had they taken Tkachuk, Michkov, Oettinger. Now that may have changed their positions but if it hadn’t, they’d be looking good with Tkachuk, Suzuki, Caufield, Michkov, Slaf, Laine. Plus other prospects

Every team in the league could have said that or something similar

 

[Stephen]

Timing of rebuilds is the most important thing imo. Teams that were rebuilding ten years ago look good and did five years ago as well, teams rebuilding five years ago don’t look so good without overwhelming outlooks either. The big exception is Buffalo who messed up their last rebuild with bad asset management and that should have tanked harder in 2015-16 and 2016-17 rather than going half at it after fully bottoming out in 2014-15. So much is outside your control because you can’t control how impactful certain draft classes will be quickly.

The quality of the draft and the impact of the pandemic on development of prospects during the 2020-2024 era can also play a role in how well all the rebuild teams are doing too.

Feels like New Jersey is the only team that entered a rebuild over the past 7 years has actually come out with any momentum. All of Anaheim, San Jose, Chicago, Buffalo, Montreal, Detroit, Ottawa, etc. they seem to be stuck in collecting talent mode.

 

[CBJx614]

Worst

Huh

Whose been ruined?! None of the current prospects are old enough to be ruined. And those that are old enough are in the NHL

Marchenko, Chinakov, Voronkov, Kent Johnson, Sillinger, Fantilli?

Not every player pops in their first or second year. Kent Johnson for example had pretty meh seasons up to this point and he currently looks like he might be a first line play driving core player.

 

[benfranklin]

They did draft 4 times in the top 10 from 2011 to 2016. What made Winnipeg rebuild successful is drafting impact player. They did not draft a single ''bust', from 2011-2016 in the first round. There 3 best forward all have been drafted.

What made team stay in the bottom is bad drafting. Look at every draft. You will always find 1 or 2 bust in the top 10.

That still isnt a "rebuild". That is simply drafting well with the spots they had. They still were trying to be competitive, just sucked enough to not make the playoffs, but not suck bad enough to get top picks or tank to get there on purpose. Even Laine, took a lottery win to get. Ironically Tkachuk was drafted 6th overall that year.

In the context of the NHL, a "rebuild" refers to a period of time in which a team deliberately works to improve its roster, typically by focusing on acquiring young talent and assets for the future rather than aiming for immediate success. This often involves:

1. Trading veterans for draft picks or young players.
2. Focusing on the draft to build a pipeline of young, promising prospects.
3. Developing younger players at the NHL or AHL level, with the goal of long-term success.

A rebuild usually happens when a team is no longer competitive in the short term and decides to focus on laying the foundation for future success, often in the hopes of becoming a Stanley Cup contender several years down the road. Rebuilds can take time, with teams needing to develop their prospects, integrate them into the NHL lineup, and build team chemistry.

 

[BlueGoose27]

Huh

Whose been ruined?! None of the current prospects are old enough to be ruined. And those that are old enough are in the NHL

Marchenko, Chinakov, Voronkov, Kent Johnson, Sillinger, Fantilli?

Not every player pops in their first or second year. Kent Johnson for example had pretty meh seasons up to this point and he currently looks like he might be a first line play driving core player.

Oh hell no…Ottawa 100%…after tonight’s disaster, cherry on top as the worst.

 

[Bond]

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.

Eh. Remember when Gaudreau dragged the team to playoffs and then next season they picked Tkachuk?

They are team in line for some big regression. Hopefully Conroy stays patient

 

[Section 104]

Of course as of today the Buffalo Sabres are in third place in the Atlantic division (although Tampa is one point out with two games in hand). Of course there is a major caveat: we have seen good starts in a few Sabres seasons before come crashing down. The season still has three-quarters left to be played. It is a young team so they may not have experience for a long grind. But they have recovered from a 1-4-1 start that had fans shaking their heads in “oh no not again” !

Seven of their next eight games are in the Queen City of the Niagara Frontier so they better pick up a bunch of points.

 

[jani]

Best: SJS
Worst: BUF

 

[Chainshot]

Seems like this is going to be bumped every time some team or another loses a game.

 

[Goose]

Its amazing how getting the #1 pick and a chance to draft a generational player helps your rebuild. Detroit has been pretty unlucky in that regard. The Ducks as well. SJ and Chicago have had good draft luck. Put Bedard on the Ducks or Detroit and this entire thread has a different take.

Yep, just look at the Leafs' two most recent rebuilds.

They tried to rebuild post-lockout with Burke, and got stuck in mediocrity. They drafted Kadri and Reilly, but alone they weren't enough to truly build around.

After the 2012-2013 season Round 1 playoff collapse, they just went full tank mode, and between 2013-2016 were able to pick up Mathews/Nylander/Marner, and now it's been 8, likely going on 9, straight years of playoffs.

Yes, you can debate the whole Core 4 signing strategy, but hard to argue with the fact that the Leafs 2013-2016 tank job paid off brilliantly in terms of turning around the franchise.

I think people forget the fact that the Leafs missed the playoffs for something like 10 out of 11 years before the current core came along.

 

[Dotter]

I see Detroit turning more into Nashville 10-15 years ago. Couple of stud defensemen, good goaltending (one of Cossa/Augustine is bound to pan out if not both) but a whole lot of mediocrity on forwards. I don't see much difference between Larkin and someone like Legwand, 1st line centers sure but definitely not amongst the top of their respective eras. Sure it's possible that Yzerman builds the team better eventually, but far more likely it'll result in same sort of mediocrity.

It's harder to draft top goalies and top pairing dmen than scoring forwards. The fact Yzerman most likely has those position handled, he can start going after scoring wingers. Centers are harder to find, but he has Larkin/Kasper/Danielson/MBN/Lombardi (Lombardi is on a scoring vengeance in the AHL, sick hands).

The problem with Nashville is they couldn't draft scoring forwards to save their life. I think Yzerman excels at drafting scoring forwards. That's his bread and butter.