Re: Rebuilding Teams

Originally Posted by
Pengwin7
Well... it's not fun to disagree with Dobber... but I'll do it here.
Just because a team has been bad forever and stocks rebuild picks doesn't mean they are going to turn it around.
The one key thing that a hockey fan should recall seeing on most every dynasty of a great playoff team... is a dynamic #1 center.
The 80s Oilers... check... Gretzky.
The 90s Penguins... check... Lemieux.
The long line of Detroit teams... check... Yzerman, Datsyuk/Zetterberg.
The 90s/00s Avalanche... check... Sakic/Forsberg.
The current Blackhawks... check... Toews.
The current LA Kings... check... Kopitar.
The current Penguins... check... Crosby/Malkin.
(and while most wouldn't include Bergeron in this list... he really is one of the best two-way/all-around centers of our generation. Underappreciated for lack of points.)
The emerging Islanders... check... Tavares.
The current Oilers... IMO... nope, sorry... RNH is not the guy... Draisatl will be a nice player... but he's not the guy either.
If they get McDavid.... IF... yup, problem solved.
In fact... whoever gets McDavid... will join the list above.
But that #1 center is oh-so-important.
If EDM can't find that #1 dynamic center... they won't make the jump.
THIS... IMO... is why they've been floundering away from playoff-island so long. No anchor.
My 2 cents.
Dynamic C's are important for sure but the Isles had Tavares for a while before they became good. Without their kid line this year, there's no way they could be doing that good. Halak had to come in to shore up the goalie situation.
And I argue they don't have that "elite D" either, their D all kind of play by committee. No real #1 guy to soak up minutes in the clutch moment.
Perhaps that's the knock against them in the playoffs...
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15 Team Yahoo Rotisserie (1YR)
Max Games Played
3C, 3LW, 3RW, 4D, 2G, 4BN
G, A, +/-, PIM, PPG, SHG, SOG, FW, HIT, BLK
W, GAA, SV%, SHO
C: Giroux, Stastny, Fisher
LW: Benn, Hall, Lucic, Hartnell
RW: Stamkos, Hossa, Stafford
D: Karlsson, Byfuglien, Brodie, Borowiecki, Pouliot
G: Elliott, Allen, Dubnyk, Stalock
IR: P. Kane
Notable Trades:
Khudobin -> Hartnell (Oct 12)
Ehrhoff -> Lupul (Nov 12)
Greiss -> Hossa (Nov 21)
Forsberg, Kucherov, Stalock -> Stamkos (Dec 20)
Varlamov -> Lucic (Jan 20)
E. Staal -> Byfuglien (Jan 20)
Halak, Perreault -> Benn (Feb 10)