More analysis.
Murphy 2
Strengths:
*Blue-line depth. Any time you can snare two of the top 10 defencemen of all time (Orr and Coffey) you're smiling. Add in Pronovost, Lowe and Ragulin, and your defence will be one of the best. Lowe and Coffey have plenty of chemistry. (BTW, I think Coffey went right about where he should go in a 17-team draft: late second round/early third round).
*Checking line. Gainey's the best defensive forward ever. Any checking line with him will be strong. Madden's been a key player for two New Jersey championships. O'Reilly was as tough as they came, and had a decent scoring touch.
*Strategy. Murphy wanted the best player ever, Bobby Orr, and he got him. And it didn't cost as much as I thought it might.
Weaknesses:
*Goaltending. Grant Fuhr's one of the best money goalies ever. In the big game, he was there. When you needed the big save late, he was there. That's what you want from your goalie. He's not the problem. But I believe Richter is an average third-stringer, and at this point in his career, Luongo's better suited to the farm draft.
*Coaching. What's Ted Nolan ever won? He won the 1997 Jack Adams, but make no mistake about it, Hasek was THE reason Buffalo succeeded that year. Sorry, Murphy, but this guy's overrated. Big time.
Steals:
*Yvon Cournoyer, Round 7, 111th overall. (One of the few times in the draft when a selection caused me to utter a rather audible profanity. Thought I'd land him as my No. 1 RW).
*Darryl Sittler, Round 8, 128th overall.
*Rick Middleton, Round 12, 196th overall
*Kevin Lowe, Round 13, 213th overall
*Punch Broadbent, Round 20, 332nd overall
*Brian Sutter, Round 21, 349th overall
Too soon:
*Terry O'Reilly, Round 11, 179th overall
*Wendel Clark, Round 14, 230th overall. (Don't flame me, Leaf Lander. Clark was a dominant player at his peak, it's just there were better power left wingers still available).
*Ilya Kovalchuk, Round 18, 298th overall
*Mike Richter, Round 19, 315th overall
*Roberto Luongo, Round 23, 383rd overall
*Ted Nolan, Round 24, 400th overall
Evil Sather
Strengths:
*1-2 centre punch. Trottier and Messier (yeah, I think Trotts was better) are two of the top 10 centres ever. How many GMs can boast that? And they're both versatile and can be used in any situation.
*Top two lines. Not only do they have perhaps the best 1-2 punch at centre, but the rest of the forwards aren't half bad, either. Messier-Propp-Neely might be the best playoff line in the draft. Trottier-Shanahan-Gilbert is an excellent mix of skill and grit.
*Goaltending. Very well built. Parent is one of the top 10 goalies ever, IMO. Belfour and Liut are ideal No. 2 and 3 goalies, respectively, in this draft.
Weaknesses:
*Defence. It's not as bad as jtuzzi's, but there are some pieces missing. There isn't that all-time, top 15 blue liner, a Pilote or a Park, let alone an Orr or a Shore. Ching Johnson and McCrimmon are solid, but it's not a defence that's going to be a difference maker.
*Checking line. Dirk Graham, Don Luce, Peter Bondra. Hmmm, one of these forwards isn't like the others. Or is the fourth line, with Dany Heatley, the checking line? Or do you not have a checking line?
Steals:
*Bryan Trottier, second round, 29th overall.
*Ching Johnson, 12th round, 199th overall
*Brad McCrimmon, 15th round, 244th overall
*Craig McTavish, 18th round, 301st overall (One of the best steals among defensive forwards).
*Dirk Graham, 20th round, 335th overall
*Mike Liut, 21st round, 346th overall
Too soon:
Mark Messier, first round, sixth overall. (Yes, I know your selected him because he's one of your all-time favourites, but I still think he's out of place in the first round, especially ahead of a Richard, Shore, Harvey or Bobby Hull).
*Borje Salming, fourth round, 64th overall.
*Chris Pronger, fifth round, 74th overall. (I know, Pronger's all the rage with his performance in the playoffs, and his status in the game's history is improving, but I still don't think he's worthy of a top 100 pick. In a couple years, though...)
*Sergei Zubov, 10th round, 165th overall.
*Peter Bondra, 14th round, 233rd overall.
*Dany Heatley, 17th round, 278th overall
Spitfire11
*Note to Spit: I would analyse your strengths and weaknesses, but I think you already did an excellent job of that. Anything I say would be redundant.
Steals:
*Butch Bouchard, 9th round, 139th overall
*Toe Blake, 10th round, 159th overall
*Gerry Cheevers, 16th round, 216th overall
*Art Coulter, 19th round, 309th overall
*Harry Lumley, 21st round, 343rd overall
Too soon:
*Sergei Fedorov, 4th round, 66th overall. (I know, he's a long-time Red Wing, and a versatile player, but I think there were several centres out there who were better, including Larionov).
*Jere Lehtinen, 11th round, 182nd overall
*Alexander Ovechkin, 12th round, 202nd overall
*Brad Richards, 18th round, 304th overall