What a Difference Two Years Makes

[Faltorvo]

Leaf fan realists have been saying this for almost 5 years.
We were called "trolls" and other such nonsense for having the audacity to voice our opinions (which have been proven to have been correct).

When Burke first got here and attempted his "re-tool" as opposed to a legitimate rebuild, we pointed out that it would be a drastic mistake.
That we would be a future "mediocre slip into the playoffs" team, as opposed to a future elite team.

It's pretty much outrageous to claim at this point that we have a young core that will be a future elite team. Outrageous.
And that's all as the richest team in the league, who have made the playoffs ONCE in the past 10 years.
A team that has during that time finished in the position to have drafted 13th, 5th, 7th, 2nd, 9th, 5th overall in that time.
All with the highest paid scouting department and front office.

You can't blame ownership... they're throwing out the bucks and doing ANYTHING they can to make this team competent.
But our management has made legendary blunder after blunder... the vast majority of which have been shamefully defended by the majority of this fanbase.

Look how ridiculous this is...
Our team is CLEARLY not an elite team. We've made the playoffs ONCE in 10 years, and the future isn't looking much brighter... all as the richest team in the league.
And the majority of fans are/were STILL supportive of management through it all.
It's stranger than fiction.
I can say with a 100% straight face that it may be one of the most illogical acceptances of futility that the human race has ever encountered.

Well there is also one very alarming thing.

This roster has the same cap hit as Chi,Pitt,Bos,LA,SJ,Ana,STl and Van,,,,AND we had to use both compliance buy outs to pull that off. Not to forget, we also are taking advanced advantage of the inherent value in 3 2nd round picks. The market value in those 3 draft slots are being used right now on this roster.

There is something seriously wrong when I can make a accurate statement like that.

 

[Mess]

People argue you don't need a foundation built on drafting your core key elements because it takes patience during a teams down cycle, and then are disappointed that a slap happy rebuild undertaking of massive roster turnover grabbing other teams expendables is not getting us positive results.

Perhaps the Leafs trending results without improvement are those created upon a faulty game plan to begin with and being reflected accurately on the actual results generated.

Maybe the better formula for success is patience and time, as impatience doesn't seem to be having the desired effects.

 

[Faltorvo]

Is this really surprising to anyone? Really?

This team didn't rebuild ever. After the Quinn years they desperately hung onto the decent team they had had under Quinn, a team BTW that was still never good enough to compete for a Cup, despite the overwhelming and obvious evidence that their best chance to win had clearly passed them by and the core pieces were gettng older and should have been traded for young players and draft picks.

When finally those players moved on, in most cases wth nothing coming back in return, the team was forced to go another route, but instead of doing the smart thing and doing a proper rebuild they tried to half ass a quick turnaround to make the team what it was under Quinn, a decent team that really had no shot at winning anything significant to attempt to justify the outrageous ticket prices that our corporate ownership charges us to watch this annual mess.

I've come to the conclusion that making the playoffs last year was the worst thing that could have ever happened to this franchise because it gave people false hope. Hope that this team was anything more than what they are which is a bubble playoff team with no chance of competing for a Cup and worse yet not bad enough to get into the top five in the draft.

Still though people come on here and defend the players on this team by saying stuff like " we have all the pieces" like I read on the first page of this thread or pretending like we are one player away from becoming a legitimate contender, while in reality it is not like that. Not even close.

When people, especially Leaf management and ownership, finally figure out that they cannot half ass a rebuild and try to build a team through free agency then, and only then, will this team possibly get to where we all want them to be.

For me, what I find most troubling is this.

I just don't see anything coming up in our dev system or enough potential growth in the young players we have up here that will add up to being a legit contender.

 

[The Caveman]

Shortsightedness rules on these boards.

The problem is drafting. We have top 10 picks on the team already - a number of them. Those of you who think another top pick will change anything are delusional.

How has Boston managed to stay at the top? They chose a team identity and have drafted accordingly, and well. They have picked the right players from their draft choices and have been patient with them. Bergeron was a -28 in his second year. It wasn't until his 5th year that he became a serious + player. Again I remind you that Boston and other great teams have chosen well in the first three rounds - and have been patient. Bergeron was picked 45th and their #1C, Krejci, was chosen 63rd.

On a positive note:

We have great goalies. We have three D (Dion, Morgan, Gunnar) who are very good NHL'ers on any team. We have a number of good D prospects, and I agree we need another top 4 D right now, in a few years we probably won't. Our backend in a few years should be very solid.

We have skill up front with JVR, Kessel and Lupul - players that any team would love to have. The Leafs plan was to become a tough cycle team and have drafted big, gritty forwards - much like St. Louis has done. Our draft choices aren't ready yet so we are caught in a transition. The Blues chose a direction and drafted and developed well . Jayden Shwartz, who is in his third year and tearing it up now was drafted at 14! Everyone wants David Backes? Oh, he was drafted 62nd. Patrick Bergland? He was picked 25th.

Create an organizational identity, Draft smart, develop well and be patient. And slowly win more games, and develop a winning culture. Stop looking for a magic bullet, it doesn't exist.

 

[21JVR*]

What can we get to tank with McDavid draft? A strong draft and 1st round as well as 2nd round picks are very important in that draft. What can we get out of Kessel, Kadri, Phaneuf, Gardiner, Lupul, Reimer, Bernier?

Only include picks and prospects. What actually we can get out of these players and what will it do for us to tank how many top notch players can we acquire out of the draft?

 

[Billy6]

Leaf fan realists have been saying this for almost 5 years.
We were called "trolls" and other such nonsense for having the audacity to voice our opinions (which have been proven to have been correct).

When Burke first got here and attempted his "re-tool" as opposed to a legitimate rebuild, we pointed out that it would be a drastic mistake.
That we would be a future "mediocre slip into the playoffs" team, as opposed to a future elite team.

It's pretty much outrageous to claim at this point that we have a young core that will be a future elite team. Outrageous.
And that's all as the richest team in the league, who have made the playoffs ONCE in the past 10 years.
A team that has during that time finished in the position to have drafted 13th, 5th, 7th, 2nd, 9th, 5th overall in that time.
All with the highest paid scouting department and front office.

You can't blame ownership... they're throwing out the bucks and doing ANYTHING they can to make this team competent.
But our management has made legendary blunder after blunder... the vast majority of which have been shamefully defended by the majority of this fanbase.

Look how ridiculous this is...
Our team is CLEARLY not an elite team. We've made the playoffs ONCE in 10 years, and the future isn't looking much brighter... all as the richest team in the league.
And the majority of fans are/were STILL supportive of management through it all.
It's stranger than fiction.
I can say with a 100% straight face that it may be one of the most illogical acceptances of futility that the human race has ever encountered.

You are not alone my friend. I agree with you 100%.

 

[The Caveman]

What can we get to tank with McDavid draft? A strong draft and 1st round as well as 2nd round picks are very important in that draft. What can we get out of Kessel, Kadri, Phaneuf, Gardiner, Lupul, Reimer, Bernier?

Only include picks and prospects. What actually we can get out of these players and what will it do for us to tank how many top notch players can we acquire out of the draft?

#NoHonourForConnor

 

[Faltorvo]

Shortsightedness rules on these boards.

The problem is drafting. We have top 10 picks on the team already - a number of them. Those of you who think another top pick will change anything are delusional.

How has Boston managed to stay at the top? They chose a team identity and have drafted accordingly, and well. They have picked the right players from their draft choices and have been patient with them. Bergeron was a -28 in his second year. It wasn't until his 5th year that he became a serious + player. Again I remind you that Boston and other great teams have chosen well in the first three rounds - and have been patient. Bergeron was picked 45th and their #1C, Krejci, was chosen 63rd.

On a positive note:

We have great goalies. We have three D (Dion, Morgan, Gunnar) who are very good NHL'ers on any team. We have a number of good D prospects, and I agree we need another top 4 D right now, in a few years we probably won't. Our backend in a few years should be very solid.

We have skill up front with JVR, Kessel and Lupul - players that any team would love to have. The Leafs plan was to become a tough cycle team and have drafted big, gritty forwards - much like St. Louis has done. Our draft choices aren't ready yet so we are caught in a transition. The Blues chose a direction and drafted and developed well . Jayden Shwartz, who is in his third year and tearing it up now was drafted at 14! Everyone wants David Backes? Oh, he was drafted 62nd. Patrick Bergland? He was picked 25th.

Create an organizational identity, Draft smart, develop well and be patient. And slowly win more games, and develop a winning culture. Stop looking for a magic bullet, it doesn't exist.

Some could fairly argue that BB set the identity, came in here saying we don't need to wait 5 years , traded future first round picks for a player in the NHL.

Kept inking vets to such bad contracts that they either ended up dying in the AHL or had to be bought out or swapped for another very bad contract. Army,Komi,Conn,Grabo,Liles.

BB did talk about either shooting to the top or plummeting to the basement, being stuck in the middle was the worse case scenario.

I have to ask, do you see enough potential growth in the players we have up or up and coming in the minors to get this team up there with the Chi,Pitts,Bos of the league?

I don't.

 

[The Caveman]

Some could fairly argue that BB set the identity, came in here saying we don't need to wait 5 years , traded future first round picks for a player in the NHL.

Kept inking vets to such bad contracts that they either ended up dying in the AHL or had to be bought out or swapped for another very bad contract. Army,Komi,Conn,Grabo,Liles.

BB did talk about either shooting to the top or plummeting to the basement, being stuck in the middle was the worse case scenario.

I have to ask, do you see enough potential growth in the players we have up or up and coming in the minors to get this team up there with the Chi,Pitts,Bos of the league?

I don't.

Which is why I said drafting and developing is the problem. BB chose a identity and got us a coach in RC that matches that plan. The problem is two-fold:
1- It takes years for those players to reach the NHL
2- During that transition, you will be caught with players that aren't suited to that

BB/Nonis are working from the backend out. We have a #1 goalie in Bernier who needs experience. We will have a solid D in a few years. We need more patience.

Leivo, Broll, Biggs, Gauthier, Kadri all fit the M/O. Ashton does as well. Could the leafs have chosen better? I can't answer that yet. Nobody can. But as I stated, a number of high end NHL'ers that fit our teams philosophy were chosen at those draft positions or even lower by other teams.

 

[21JVR*]

Shortsightedness rules on these boards.

The problem is drafting. We have top 10 picks on the team already - a number of them. Those of you who think another top pick will change anything are delusional.

How has Boston managed to stay at the top? They chose a team identity and have drafted accordingly, and well. They have picked the right players from their draft choices and have been patient with them. Bergeron was a -28 in his second year. It wasn't until his 5th year that he became a serious + player. Again I remind you that Boston and other great teams have chosen well in the first three rounds - and have been patient. Bergeron was picked 45th and their #1C, Krejci, was chosen 63rd.

On a positive note:

We have great goalies. We have three D (Dion, Morgan, Gunnar) who are very good NHL'ers on any team. We have a number of good D prospects, and I agree we need another top 4 D right now, in a few years we probably won't. Our backend in a few years should be very solid.

We have skill up front with JVR, Kessel and Lupul - players that any team would love to have. The Leafs plan was to become a tough cycle team and have drafted big, gritty forwards - much like St. Louis has done. Our draft choices aren't ready yet so we are caught in a transition. The Blues chose a direction and drafted and developed well . Jayden Shwartz, who is in his third year and tearing it up now was drafted at 14! Everyone wants David Backes? Oh, he was drafted 62nd. Patrick Bergland? He was picked 25th.

Create an organizational identity, Draft smart, develop well and be patient. And slowly win more games, and develop a winning culture. Stop looking for a magic bullet, it doesn't exist.

That can only be done by remaking the whole new identity and draft accordingly. We have players who are all with different identities.

Kessel won't play the board game we implanted, Kadri looks to soft to get banged around the boards, Lupul goes to dirty areas and gives you a pain with injuries. JVR seems to work hard to get the puck but fails to do anything significantly with this team. Clarkson is a joke on this team. The only team Clarkson fits in is Boston. Bolland is good on 3rd if he stays healthy. Basically who are we?

On defense Phaneuf and Gunnarson top shut down pair, perfect, but Gunnarson doesn't have the high IQ to make the first pass and we are stuck in our own end. Gardiner, I don't know but it starts to show that he is failing to live up to his expectation. How many times Gardiner has sent the puck for icing and oppositions have been successful to convert on that?

EDIT: Nothing else to say about Franson, Fraser, Ranger, Gleason. We all know what they are.

Who are we? Why are we in wild card spot? Do you think any of the players listed above makes any sense? It's only our 2 goalies who are keeping us alive.

 

[Al14]

Leaf fan realists have been saying this for almost 5 years.
We were called "trolls" and other such nonsense for having the audacity to voice our opinions (which have been proven to have been correct).

When Burke first got here and attempted his "re-tool" as opposed to a legitimate rebuild, we pointed out that it would be a drastic mistake.
That we would be a future "mediocre slip into the playoffs" team, as opposed to a future elite team.

It's pretty much outrageous to claim at this point that we have a young core that will be a future elite team. Outrageous.
And that's all as the richest team in the league, who have made the playoffs ONCE in the past 10 years.
A team that has during that time finished in the position to have drafted 13th, 5th, 7th, 2nd, 9th, 5th overall in that time.
All with the highest paid scouting department and front office.

You can't blame ownership... they're throwing out the bucks and doing ANYTHING they can to make this team competent.
But our management has made legendary blunder after blunder... the vast majority of which have been shamefully defended by the majority of this fanbase.

Look how ridiculous this is...
Our team is CLEARLY not an elite team. We've made the playoffs ONCE in 10 years, and the future isn't looking much brighter... all as the richest team in the league.
And the majority of fans are/were STILL supportive of management through it all.
It's stranger than fiction.
I can say with a 100% straight face that it may be one of the most illogical acceptances of futility that the human race has ever encountered.

I agree, Burke set our team back several years with his foolish acquisition of Kessel. We should have used those draft picks to start our rebuild!

Kessel is a complementary piece you add near the end of your rebuild. You can't build around a player that doesn't possess a COMPLETE 200 foot game! Kessel has more does nots than does!

 

[ULF_55]

Leafs are worse today than 2 years ago defensively.

Per game
2011-2012 - 30.8 shots against
2013-2014 - 36.7 shots against

Last night Bernier failed to save them, but the team was only slightly worse than most of the games this year.

Leafs are 20th. in the league for goal against per game, and that is on the back of two goalies with .923 and .928 save percentages.

Goalies are part of the team, but so are soft, floating, irresponsible forwards, and pinching, risk taking, confused defenders.

Last night when Bernier was ordinary, many of the players were only interested in the easy part, trying to score.


Bottom 2 lines were -1
Top 2 lines were -14

 

[The Caveman]

That can only be done by remaking the whole new identity and draft accordingly. We have players who are all with different identities.

Kessel won't play the board game we implanted, Kadri looks to soft to get banged around the boards, Lupul goes to dirty areas and gives you a pain with injuries. JVR seems to work hard to get the puck but fails to do anything significantly with this team. Clarkson is a joke on this team. The only team Clarkson fits in is Boston. Bolland is good on 3rd if he stays healthy. Basically who are we?

On defense Phaneuf and Gunnarson top shut down pair, perfect, but Gunnarson doesn't have the high IQ to make the first pass and we are stuck in our own end. Gardiner, I don't know but it starts to show that he is failing to live up to his expectation. How many times Gardiner has sent the puck for icing and oppositions have been successful to convert on that?

Who are we? Why are we in wild card spot? Do you think any of the players listed above makes any sense? It's only our 2 goalies who are keeping us alive.

Lets start with the D. Gunnar is a better 2nd pairing D. Reilly, once he matures, will be that other #1D. Those are the three I would keep. Who out of Percy, Granberg or Finn can be the next 2nd pairing D? They are all considered very good prospects. Again, our D corps is still years away, but there is hope there.

Up front is where we have to continue to work, I agree. I like Lupul, JVR and Kessel, despite his softness, is an elite scoring winger. Any team would love to have all three of them. JVR and Lupul are ideal for our team philosophy. I also like Bozak, despite what many think on this board. We do have a solid #1 line and its a combination of our weak D and a coaching system which doesn't help.

I think the kadri discussion is at the heart of this whole thread. Should we give up on him, despite that this is only his second NHL year? I am not a pro judge of talent. I remember when Bergeron came into the league (I have followed the Bruins for years). Didn't think much of him. It took 5 years. Now look.

 

[The Legend]

Wilson and Carlyle are equals. There is nothing improved about Randy Carlyle. I said this when we hired him.

We have all the right pieces. We just need a coach who knows how to use them.

I'll agree with half of this. There's nothing "improved" about having Carlyle instead of Wilson. Unfortunately I do not think our team is very good at its core, which happens to partially be the fault of Carlyle (who wanted a certain type of player on this team).

 

[The Legend]

People argue you don't need a foundation built on drafting your core key elements because it takes patience during a teams down cycle, and then are disappointed that a slap happy rebuild undertaking of massive roster turnover grabbing other teams expendables is not getting us positive results.

Perhaps the Leafs trending results without improvement are those created upon a faulty game plan to begin with and being reflected accurately on the actual results generated.

Maybe the better formula for success is patience and time, as impatience doesn't seem to be having the desired effects.

But yet buying Grabovski out after a ten game sample size was....patience?

 

[ULF_55]

I think the kadri discussion is at the heart of this whole thread. Should we give up on him, despite that this is only his second NHL year? I am not a pro judge of talent. I remember when Bergeron came into the league (I have followed the Bruins for years). Didn't think much of him. It took 5 years. Now look.

This point I dispute, Bergeron IIRC was a surprise to make the team in his draft year.

Scored 31 goals when he was 20, had 2 70 point seasons by age 21.

He suffered a concussion which set him back big time.

There is no comparison between Bergeron and Kadri.

 

[Dayjobdave]

Is this a joke post or a real post?
The OP was not judging this team off of one bad loss.
It's the OPPOSITE of that.
He's judging this team on a comparison after 42 games from 2 years ago.
You get that? Not ONE game that he's judging. But a total of EIGHTY FOUR games.

I'm ASTOUNDED that I had to point that out to you,

the OP is pointing out that two years ago the leafs were in a playoff spot under Wilson. From that point, they then proceeded to 'Drive the 18 wheeler off the cliff'

If this team now goes into a 2 month nose-dive, the core is in trouble

if they do not, the team is far ahead of where they were.

that's the thing about picking a moment in time, it doesn't always tell the whole story.

of course if we play for the next 2 months like we did last night, someone please come and cut me down. I'll be hanging in my closet.

 

[Faltorvo]

the OP is pointing out that two years ago the leafs were in a playoff spot under Wilson. From that point, they then proceeded to 'Drive the 18 wheeler off the cliff'

If this team now goes into a 2 month nose-dive, the core is in trouble

if they do not, the team is far ahead of where they were.

that's the thing about picking a moment in time, it doesn't always tell the whole story.

of course if we play for the next 2 months like we did last night, someone please come and cut me down. I'll be hanging in my closet.

Some would argue that we are already in a 2 month nose dive.

 

[The Winter Soldier]

This point I dispute, Bergeron IIRC was a surprise to make the team in his draft year.

Scored 31 goals when he was 20, had 2 70 point seasons by age 21.

He suffered a concussion which set him back big time.

There is no comparison between Bergeron and Kadri.

Maybe Kadri needs to be reminded what Ron Wilson said, the kid has "nasty habits". He is proving Wilson right this year, as opposed to last year when he proved Wilson wrong.

 

[ULF_55]

the OP is pointing out that two years ago the leafs were in a playoff spot under Wilson. From that point, they then proceeded to 'Drive the 18 wheeler off the cliff'

If this team now goes into a 2 month nose-dive, the core is in trouble

if they do not, the team is far ahead of where they were.

that's the thing about picking a moment in time, it doesn't always tell the whole story.

of course if we play for the next 2 months like we did last night, someone please come and cut me down. I'll be hanging in my closet.

If they continue to play like the have for the past 2 months, odds are they will be caught and past by teams that did not have the hot start.

They don't have to nose dive to miss the playoffs.

However, a nose dive could land them a top 5 pick.

Missing the playoffs would be a disaster without benefit, a nose dive could land them a Nichushkin.

 

[21JVR*]

Lets start with the D. Gunnar is a better 2nd pairing D. Reilly, once he matures, will be that other #1D. Those are the three I would keep. Who out of Percy, Granberg or Finn can be the next 2nd pairing D? They are all considered very good prospects. Again, our D corps is still years away, but there is hope there.

Up front is where we have to continue to work, I agree. I like Lupul, JVR and Kessel, despite his softness, is an elite scoring winger. Any team would love to have all three of them. JVR and Lupul are ideal for our team philosophy. I also like Bozak, despite what many think on this board. We do have a solid #1 line and its a combination of our weak D and a coaching system which doesn't help.

I think the kadri discussion is at the heart of this whole thread. Should we give up on him, despite that this is only his second NHL year? I am not a pro judge of talent. I remember when Bergeron came into the league (I have followed the Bruins for years). Didn't think much of him. It took 5 years. Now look.

I don't think anybody is bad. Kadri is a center who will bite us like Steen in future but to think of creating an identity he is not the player you add to compliment this team. He will be a beast on teams like Winnipeg, Dallas, Pittsburgh, Chicago, Colorado also Oilers but this is not the time he will shine for them.

Our team doesn't have the skill to keep up with guys like him. Kessel JVR are very skilled wingers but Kadri didn't succeed because Kessel wants the puck on his stick. Kadri is a terrific play maker but he is an average scorer so you can use his play making skills but you can't rely on him to score a lot.

Kulemin is the guy that compliments Kadri and Lupul but then again who will play 3rd line under the circumstances? We finally had a good pairing in Holland, Lupul and Raymond for a while but we can't afford to demerit Kadri's value by playing him on 3rd line under Holland.

Either we have to find wingers like Kunitz who just play without the puck and scores while being set up or we have to trade Kadri while he can get something for us. I also think Kadri will be a top notch player on Carolina.

There is a very strong chance that we can acquire Elias Lindholm for Kadri and Gardiner just because they have abundance of centers and need a strong puck moving defenseman. Gardiner will be the intriguing player for them to think about between Elias Lindholm and Kadri.

 

[seanlinden]

You look at the past and say "who cares, the past is the past".
I look at the past and say "we're making the same god damn mistakes all over again that have kept us as the pathetic punch line of the league for ages".

That's the difference.

I think that our philosophy HAS NOT changed. We simply fired one gm, and replaced him with another. But same crappy philosophy.
We are not a future elite team.
The longer we wait to FINALLY begin a legitimate rebuild, the longer we'll wait to finally be a bona fide elite nhl hockey team.
Overpaying people like Clarkson and Bozak is a step backwards, not forwards.

It seems that you're stuck with the idea that rebuild means intentionally losing, you fail to see the differences between the team that JFJ assembled, and the current team, realizing that as long as you keep rebuilding, you ensure you'll never have success. To have success, you need to find a philosophy and stick to it.

Have fun with that mentality cheering for the Oilers.

 

[ULF_55]

It seems that you're stuck with the idea that rebuild means intentionally losing, you fail to see the differences between the team that JFJ assembled, and the current team, realizing that as long as you keep rebuilding, you ensure you'll never have success. To have success, you need to find a philosophy and stick to it.

Have fun with that mentality cheering for the Oilers.

JFj wanted to rebuild. He didn't want to retool.

MLSE said playoffs or your gone.

JFj was proven right.

 

[The Caveman]

This point I dispute, Bergeron IIRC was a surprise to make the team in his draft year.

Scored 31 goals when he was 20, had 2 70 point seasons by age 21.

He suffered a concussion which set him back big time.

There is no comparison between Bergeron and Kadri.

He was also a -28 in his second 70 point season. The point is that it took 5 years for him to develop into the player that he is today. I think Kadri has the skill set to become a very good NHL player. Does he have the desire or the willingness to learn? If we want to play comparable, then Ribeiro is a better example. Montreal gave up on him and he became a very good center at around year 5.

 

[BudMaster17]

Shortsightedness rules on these boards.

The problem is drafting. We have top 10 picks on the team already - a number of them. Those of you who think another top pick will change anything are delusional.

How has Boston managed to stay at the top? They chose a team identity and have drafted accordingly, and well. They have picked the right players from their draft choices and have been patient with them. Bergeron was a -28 in his second year. It wasn't until his 5th year that he became a serious + player. Again I remind you that Boston and other great teams have chosen well in the first three rounds - and have been patient. Bergeron was picked 45th and their #1C, Krejci, was chosen 63rd.

On a positive note:

We have great goalies. We have three D (Dion, Morgan, Gunnar) who are very good NHL'ers on any team. We have a number of good D prospects, and I agree we need another top 4 D right now, in a few years we probably won't. Our backend in a few years should be very solid.

We have skill up front with JVR, Kessel and Lupul - players that any team would love to have. The Leafs plan was to become a tough cycle team and have drafted big, gritty forwards - much like St. Louis has done. Our draft choices aren't ready yet so we are caught in a transition. The Blues chose a direction and drafted and developed well . Jayden Shwartz, who is in his third year and tearing it up now was drafted at 14! Everyone wants David Backes? Oh, he was drafted 62nd. Patrick Bergland? He was picked 25th.

Create an organizational identity, Draft smart, develop well and be patient. And slowly win more games, and develop a winning culture. Stop looking for a magic bullet, it doesn't exist.

Great post.... But my ex found this magic bullet you speak of and now I don't exist...