The Snake Draft in Hindsight

[Tap on the Ankle]

Or go talk to florida.

And it's not like the Caps couldn't have traded up into the top ten, those 2 2nds were enought to get you another first.

If my team had three balls in this lottery, I'd certainly give up two of them for Nathan Horton and Jay Bouwmeester.

 

[Hasbro]

If you're unhappy with Ovechkin we'll take him off your hands.

 

[A Good Flying Bird*]

Nope, they didn't. They didn't have a "decent" team for several seasons. The team that Leonsis 'bailed' on was fighting for last place. A $50-million payroll team full of "stars" and "talent" never got out of the bottom five. Time to move all the overpaid underacheiving personnel and replace them with younger, hungrier players.

We're in year one of a rebuild ---- I have no complaints about the directions the Capitals are going. Just watch out - in three years the Caps are going to be a force.

(And not all Cap fans complain --- please don't lump us in one category).

Well, in terms of results, you're right.
But this team has had the lineup up to compete. They had poor coaching and poor leadership.
But they had the ability to compete.


Comparing the Caps of two and three years ago to the Nashvilles of the world is unfair.
They had stars.
Jagr. Gonchar. Lang. Bondra. Kolzig.
How many teams boasted that kind of top flight talent?

And they had a supporting cast of good players.
Zubbrus. Nylander. Konowalchuck. Witt. Grier etc.

I mean, Washington had more than enough talent to compete.
They sold it all off in a year's time, and they got Ovechkin for their trouble.
You think they also deserved a better shot at Crosby?

I don't.

 

[thestonedkoala]

I loved this draft. I loved it and personally I wouldn't have complained if Minnesota got the 31st overall draft pick. It was the fair thing to do and the best thing to do. Going into the draft they had a clean slate. A lot of teams were going to lose players and the whole NHL was going to have to be built from the ground up. A huge amount of talent also was going to be out on the market and so, the best thing was in the end was just throw the lottery out the window and create a new one that wouldn't take in effect who was the better team or not because you know what? The best teams would all suck and the poor teams would do well because the whole economic structure of the NHL was changing. So why screw teams that were going to suck for a few years by making them suck longer. Just happened that Pittsburgh for the first and the rest fell into place.

This draft was fair. It took into account everything EXCEPT team rankings from the previous year...

Do you think it's fair that teams that struggled to the END to get into the playoffs and ended up missing out got a middle round pick? I mean they are trying to do everything in their power to make a competitive team and try to establish a solid core but they need a few more players or a few more talents on their team but they end up with mid-rounders while these guys that are just sucking it up for a few years, get the top picks? I mean seriously, that is unfair! Why do teams that aren't making the playoffs but at least trying, get punished severely? Even though they've tried for years to make the playoffs but because they get stuck with middle round draft picks can't get a good talent into their system? Or because they don't have enough to simply splurge on a huge free agent but have developed their own talent and made smart moves? Seriously is that fair?

IN THE END IT WAS FAIR!

They couldn't do crap because you know a team like Tampa Bay could have really sucked in 04-05 because of injuries or what not or maybe you got a team that did extremely well and ended up in the playoffs that no one knew about. What they did was smart. Just throw it all in because nothing was certain.

If Washington gets a top 5 pick this year, if MINNESOTA gets a top 5 pick this year, I'll be extremely pissed off.

 

[Souffle]

Let's simplify this so some can understand...

Caps status pre draft: One of worst teams in the league
Assumption: The draft is designed to give poorer teams a chance to get talent.
Reality: Caps, Panthers and other teams get hosed by not getting top picks DESPITE being the worst teams
Add Insult to Injury: Teams like Atlanta who have had multiple high picks get better chances. The Rangers get a much better chance than they deserved. They even get hosed in the end.

Now a few months later, the very folks that make the claim that the Caps did not deserve a Top 10 pick, universally declare us the worst team. Given the assumption listed above, we were hosed. Classic waffling. You want to call us worst, don't do it after insisting we did not deserve a high pick. You do the assumption a misjustice. You either say we are a middle of the road team and draft there or we are a bad team and draft there. When you say we are a middle of the road team, you discount FREE agency. It does not impact where a team is, each team has equal chances. That is the way the rules are.

CONCLUSION: Some teams were hosed by the draft because it did not approximate any ORDER OF FINISH. Some tems like Ottawa unfairly benefitted solely because we had a work stoppage. If someone can prove to me that Ottawa would have had the 9th pik had we had no strike, I will stop mentioning this. the fact that you cannot proves ny argument more than holds it's validity.

When all else fails, and you have no argument you can always try the "resort to whining" argument that is spewed out here ad nauseum.

Why should Washington have been compensated twice for the same lousy season? Why should Ottawa be consigned to a low draft pick because there was a lost season in which they would have been a Cup favourite? Teams like Ottawa actually lost more because of the work stoppage. I bet every Ottawa fan would happily trade Brian Lee at 9th overall for a full season in which Ottawa would have been a serious Cup contender.

The fairness of a weighted lottery in which every team had a chance to win Crosby was in balancing the need for weak teams to get better without punishing good teams who lost an oppurtunity to play for the Cup. Washington had its chance like the 29 other teams, but it didn't turn out. Oh well.

Washington's current lousy state has nothing to do with the last draft. Pittsburgh isn't a playoff contender because they have Crosby. Washington is still a lousy team because they didn't go out and acquire Gonchar, Palffy, Leclair, Roy, Thibault and Recchi.

I really don't see your point. Next year's draft will once again be based on order of finish. Next draft Washington will be compensated for being a lousy team this year. As of now the Capitals are a top contender for Kessel. Good for them for choosing this instead of a serious chance at the playoffs, let alone the Cup.