Feels like the Florida Panthers and Anaheim Ducks had a Freaky Friday and swapped franchise identities. Now it's Florida that's the killer franchise and Anaheim turned into a sunny place where high picks go to take it easy.
Nah, the Ducks just paid the price for not drafting any replacements for their aging guys for a long stretch. Granted they were mostly not picking very high because they were mostly contending, at some point that catches up to you, but from '13-17 the only player of note drafted who is still on the roster is Terry. Theodore was lost to expansion, Montour didn't pan out until he was long gone, Steele the same.
Those are guys who, if you got a bunch of good picks banked, would now be 25-30 years old, right in their prime. They don't have that. So their best talent is super young.
Not saying it's quite the same, but consider a team with the following:
Sakic, 22
Sundin, 20
Nolan, 19
Foote, 20
Leschyshyn, 22
Rucinsky, 20
That team finished 20-48-12, despite BOTH Sakic and Sundin being very productive offensive players. And that was an improvement from previous seasons.
I know this started as a prospect board, but the reality is that teams where the most talented guys are under 23 is likely to suck.
Even young players who are blossom offensively are rarely aces defensively until they have years of experience, at least compared to veterans ... at best they're usually "adequate". For proof, ask yourself how often you see a coach call on his talented 21 year old to kill a critical penalty in the playoffs, instead of a veteran. It happens, but those players are the exceptions. Also ask yourself how often a GM tries to trade veterans to another contender for young NHL ready prospects at the deadline.
