Well, I am going to disagree. The panthers and golden Knights likeky do too. The Panthers only drafted like 5 of the guys on their roster that has been to back-2-back cup finals, got a cup win in the most recent of the 2, and they almost definitely run it back for 3rd attempt next season. That doesn't quantify as success? The Knights best players were all aquired in trades or Free Agency. Mark Stone, Eichel, Pietrangelo, and now Hertl.
It doesn't matter how well you scout, there is an element of luck and guess work to drafting and development. You can never assume a pick will reach there ceiling. Does every Concensus talent become star? No. They flop all the time. Can I assume a guy who has scored 60+ multiple times in the NHL under the age of 25 is capable of doing it again? Yes. He has proven he can. Can I assume a kid who has never played an NHL game will be just as good? No. I can hope he might.
ELCs are cool, the salary cap is important to monitor, but adding a good young proven player to your core is cooler. A question mark vs a proven valuable asset. I can taken the proven valuable asset to the bank, but I will really value the ELC more if it turns out the answer to the question mark is not as good as the answer I wanted
