That isn't true... see the 2017-18 New York Rangers.
And yes yes I'm aware their rebuild wasn't 100% perfect. But nevertheless, they realized their core wasn't getting it done so they shipped off a good chunk of their team.
And even if a team is dragged down into it, generally they will spend more than a year going into it. That's pretty much what Calgary did. No patience to build the right way, just get that nice playoff revenue. They got lucky in 2015 and since then its the same see-saw with the team. They've been kicking the can down the road for years and now we have one of the bleakest futures in the NHL while our GM stepped away after shitting in the can.
The one thing they weren't really able to control is the overachieving of the team in 2015.
All of the elements of a successful rebuild were there. Due to the years preceding the rebuild, the Flames already had some pieces they believed in in the cupboard, but the rebuild was about getting that top talent. If you look around at successful rebuilds, the recipe is typically that you have two drafts where you pull in the elite cornerstones, at least one other high pick to support, and the rest of the team building comes around from other sources. But it's those two key picks that are pivotal.
The Leafs did well with their two years timing up with Marner and Matthews. They had prior pieces in Kadri and Rielly, added Nylander as well and ended up jumpstarting things with Tavares. In terms of the duration of their rebuild, there is no real difference between their plan and ours.
The Oilers spent a lot of time at the bottom, certainly more than two years, but the only reason they got off the ground was the two years getting McDavid and Draisaitl. RNH is great, but he's only playing for a winning team because of those two. The extra years at the bottom did not factor into their current team in any positive way. It's all about those two years.
The Flames, realistically, did not differ from the Leafs in how they entered the rebuild. Where they differ is in the calibre of player who emerged from the two years. Our two guys were Bennett and Monahan. That's what all of this boils down to.
We act like we didn't allow the Flames to stay at the bottom, but that wasn't a management decision. They went into the 2014-15 season as a projected basement team. Gaudreau dragged them up. We did subsequently get that other piece in Tkachuk, so when you look at it through sober eyes, the Flames had all the components on paper that a successful rebuild has.
Every move that was made since then was geared towards trying to nurture the core into a true contender. You can't go back in time and redo the picks you got at the bottom when what you have is already winning, so you move ahead with what you have. That's what's been done consistently. Every single move Treliving made, regardless of how wrong it was in hindsight, was done with the intention of not just scraping into the playoffs, but going in as the one seed with a legit shot.
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