If you can draft a guy that can come in and take a top 6 forward, or top 4 defense slot in his first three years, you are saving money while he's under the rookie cap.tangible_faith said:Exactly my point. Now a team that drafted horribly can come in and take whoever they want. So what is the point of drafting now?
Look at Pittsburgh: say Crosby gets 90 pts on the #1 line. How much would a 90 pt. UFA cost you? 5-6M? They get the same production for 1/6 the price for three years.
This is obviously an extreme example, but as long as a player you draft can take a regular shift, you are saving some dough over a comparable free agent.