TBLeafer said:
Significantly Insignificant said:
Nik the Trik said:
TBLeafer said:
I look at a rebuild starting back to when current core pieces were drafted, regardless of what management drafted them. New management simply got to "take over" the rebuild with those pieces already acquired and continue from there.
That should have been 2009, but Blowhard botched it because it should generally start based on how many years in a row, or say "x" number in a five year span you are a lottery team.
Based on that, once we started keeping picks, the rebuild actually started with Rielly, with Kadri being a nice little cherry on top.
Going from Rielly though, our first actual top 5 pick acquired, the Leafs have been a lottery team in all but 1 year since acquiring Rielly, have they not?
We're going in circles here. There is no real current core because this was a 30th place team last year. Right now the Leafs are a team without a real core on their NHL roster but promising futures. Their best player that figures to be around long term is either a 36 point defenseman or a 45 point center or a player who had 13 points in 22 games. Once we have the sort of core who are actually playing like top tier NHLers it makes sense to build and plan around those guys. Until then, the only thing you're doing by having immediate expectations is putting pressure on the process.
Anyhow, this is still coming off a conversation about building depth. Right now, outside of Rielly, it looks pretty unlikely that the Leafs are going to get a ton from the 2011, 2012 or 2013 drafts. The 2014 draft, again outside of their top pick, seems questionable at this point too.
Building the sort of depth that Chicago and LA did really requires a team start hitting on their picks outside of the lottery and the Leafs haven't done that yet and that's another area where you don't need to jump the gun. Remember, Chicago didn't go out and sign Hossa until all of their young guns were firing and they just needed that small push over the top.
That too me is the counter argument of "You don't pass on guys of Stamkos stature because they don't come along". LA and Chicago were able to add the pieces that they needed. Why won't the Leafs in the future? If Chicago and LA were able to win cups without Stamkos, why won't the Leafs? Why does it need to be this year that they add a high priced UFA? Why can't they wait, draft in the top 5 again next year, and then maybe the year after that, and see where they are at.
Does adding Stamkos to this team make them a cup contender next year or the year after?
Nobody knows for certain one way or another at this point, we can only speculate and do our best to project.
How many year did it take Chicago to be a contender once Toews and Kane were added to the roster?
It took the Blackhawks three years to win the cup after the added Kane and Toews.
This is the defence that the Blackhawks had assembled by that point:
Keith, Seabrook, Campbell, Hjalmarsson, Byfuglien, and Sopel.
Keith was drafted in 2002
Byfuglien was drafted in 2003
Seabrook was drafted in 2003
Hjalmarsson was drafted in 2005
Toews was drafted in 2006
Kane was drafted in 2007
So by the time Chicago decided to go out and get Hossa in 2009, they had a really good idea what they had in their system on defence and had seen Kane and Toews play together for a year.
The Leafs have no idea who they have in their system at this point. The jury is still out on Reilly, and he has played in the league for 3 years. That's the only piece that the Leafs have that has spent any significant time in the league, and people still don't have a really good idea of where he is going to slot in.
None of the draft picks have proven to be in the Toews and Kane camp. Are the projected to be around their level? Sure, but projected is far from an absolute. So why add Stamkos if you aren't going to have anything around him? If the players that are supposed to pan out, do pan out, then the Leafs weakness is defence, which Stamkos is not going to help them on. The offence will be covered, if the players pan out, by the likes of Marner, Nylander and Matthews.
Adding Stamkos would be just for the sake of adding a good player. It would not be a move towards building a team that could compete for the cup year in and year out for ten years. Take the pain now, build a proper base, and augment as needed after the base is setup correctly.