I do love how everyone seemingly neglects what actually happened with the 'successful' tanking teams. Allow us to review, hmm?
Chicago was perpetually awful not only due to a dearth of quality NHL, but an owner who became so infamous in his frugality, fans booed his eulogy. They faced numerous seasons where merely 10,000 fans showing up was considered a positive. Even finishing dead last repeatedly did not provide immediate success-- rather it took a decade of development, trading and an overhaul of management from the top down before they finally began to turn the corner. Chicago, in fact, looks worse than Edmonton come the early 2000s. Few pay attention to their sordid past now that they have won three Stanley cup, however the Blackhawks were little more than a laughing stock once upon a time.
Tampa is an odd example, considering they may lose their tank acquired asset for nothing, and are primarily winning on talented drafted in later rounds. They, essentially, prove the precise opposite that the only path to success is through being dreadful for a decade.
LA faced threats of relocation prior to Gretzky's influence, and even thereafter struggled for years at any sort of relevancy. They lucked into Kopitar through the Crosby lottery sweepstakes, along with Montreal opting to draft a goaltender in lieu of their much needed center.
So, yes. Let's be Chicago! We can perpetually fail for the reminder of the 2010s, ruin our youth until we replace them with a multitude of 1st overall selections and have an arena of 13,000 again! Or perhaps we try a better solution and development our young prospects in a winning environment..
People also need to appreciate this is a business venture. No owner will intentionally tank and risk losing revenue. Contrary to popular belief, the vast majority of fans do not actually care about draft picks or obscure prospects suddenly performing. Ben Hutton? I guarantee not a single knew of his existence, let alone were excitedly awaiting his arrival. Hell, it took a full season before people recognized Horvat. Not to mention his struggles this season are entirely why I prefer our current development philosophy. Imagine the difficulty he would face were he relied upon as our de facto leader because the Sedins and everyone else were traded for picks.
As it stands, we might actually turn the corner while the Sedins are still premium players. I'd rather that than loiter in the basement for only a 20% shot at Matthews.
