If you were building a team, which position would be your main priority?

[bobbydigital]

You just got the job as GM of a expansion team. What is the first position you begin building your new franchise around?

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[Super Cake]

Center

My rankings is as follows (from main priority to least priority):

Center
Defenseman
Winger
Goalie

 

[jetsforever]

C
G
D
W

 

[Pierce Hawthorne]

#1C
#1D
#2C
#1G


After that, it can go many different ways IMO. But Center ice is by far the most important position in hockey.

 

[JellyRamp]

defense, followed very closely by center

 

[Hisch13r]

Center not even really close either.

 

[Sweetpotato]

Center>defense>Goalie>=wingers

 

[4Twenty]

A true 1D plays more than any other player. If you’re getting the 23-31 peak of any player I want that Hedman, Keith, Doughty, Lidstrom, Pronger, Niedermayer that is playing half the game against the opponents best and winning.

 

[Faceboner]

As a sabres fan i feel obligated to say goalie but for me its a tossup between c and d because you can win a cup with either but colorado had an elite d core with an elite forward group with that said i would lean c because teams win with a solid d core and an elite 1c than vice-versa

 

[Pierce Hawthorne]

A true 1D plays more than any other player. If you’re getting the 23-31 peak of any player I want that Hedman, Keith, Doughty, Lidstrom, Pronger, Niedermayer that is playing half the game against the opponents best and winning.

doesn't list Makar

 

[Dog]

Well, really like goaltending position but start with probably defense, center, wingers and goaltending near last.

 

[Ruthervin]

You just got the job as GM of a expansion team. What is the first position you begin building your new franchise around?

Definitely Center.

Very rarely, do you see a team win a cup without a Center that would be widely regarded as being one of the best in the league. Only team I can recall doing this was the 2019 St. Louis Blues.

For me, I think I'd draft the following in order:

1) #1 Center
2) #1Defenseman
3) #2 Center
4) #1Goalie
5) 1st line Winger
6) 1st pairing Defenseman
7) 2nd line Winger
8) 2nd line Winger
9) 2nd pairing Defenseman
10) 2nd pairing Defenseman
11) 2nd line Winger
12) 3rd line Center
13) 3rd pairing Defenseman
14) 3rd line Winger
15) 3rd pairing Defenseman
16) 3rd line Winger
17) Back-up Goalie
18) 4th line Center
19) 4th line Winger
20) 4th line Winger
21) 7th Defenseman
22) 13th forward; Center that can play wing
23) Winger

 

[KirkAlbuquerque]

Goalie AINEC

 

[McJedi]

Elite 1D
Elite 1C

 

[Mrb1p]

Best skater.

Unless its a Hasek/Roy/Price on a good contract.

 

[The Crypto Guy]

1. C
2. D
3. G
4. W

 

[Pavels Dog]

A truly elite player at any position is more important than getting a very, very good player at the "right" position.

That said, defense wins championships.

Definitely Center.

Very rarely, do you see a team win a cup without a Center that would be widely regarded as being one of the best in the league. Only team I can recall doing this was the 2019 St. Louis Blues.

Lidström, Chara, Hedman, Doughty, Makar, Keith, Pietrangelo, Letang.. it's not like a lot of teams have won without a d-man that was at or near the top.

 

[Ruthervin]

A truly elite player at any position is more important than getting a very, very good player at the "right" position.

That said, defense wins championships.

Lidström, Chara, Hedman, Doughty, Makar, Keith, Pietrangelo, Letang.. it's not like a lot of teams have won without a d-man that was at or near the top.

Good points. If I recall correctly, Carolina managed to win the cup in 2006 without an elite defenseman, but the counter-argument to that is that St. Louis managed to win a cup in 2019 without an elite center.

Fair enough. I still think the Center position is slightly more important, but you need defence as well obviously. Hence, my 2nd selection in a so-called franchise creation would be a defenseman.

 

[Zegs2sendhelp]

Prob center, but it’s close with 1d

 

[bobholly39]

Definitely center.

Players like Crosby/McDavid/Mack/Matthews/Malkin/Drai etc are consistently the most valuable assets in the league.

Only players who can come close to giving them a run for their money are #1D, but I'd still rather start with a center at the top, as the best centers are generally more valuable than the best D.

Obviously - it all depends on the player itself too in the end.

As for goalies - for the right goalie, he might end up very far up my list, maybe even #1. There's a severe shortage of reliable #1 goalies in the league today. Moreso than any other position. So - someone like Vasi for example is tremendously valuable

 

[MAB1]

1C
1D/1G (I'd argue guys like Vasi/Shesty are just as valuable as guys like Makar/Hedman)
1W

Even then, there's levels to this, John Tavares may technically be a 1C but if I had the choice between him or Vasi/Shesty, I'm picking one of the goalies...The very best of d-men and goalies are interchangeable with any centers except say the top 5.

 

[Rengorlex]

The best player available.

 

[Northern Avs Fan]

The best player available.

This is more my thought.

You can prioritize certain positions, but ultimately if you’re picking high in the draft to get franchise cornerstones, you don’t prioritize position. You take the best player and then start filling out positions of need after that.

I think you hope it’s a centre, or defenceman though, because wingers and goaltenders are easier to find.

 

[joestevens29]

Toss between the 1C and 1D. I'm not going to go out and force myself to either spend too many assets or draft a guy too high.

They are both hard positions to fill, but ultimately you kinda need both to succeed.

 

[SHANNYPLAN]

#1 C

#1 D
#2 C

#2 D
#1 G

#W