Hockey, and the NHL is so poorly run and orgs typically so nepotistic and braindead that expansion franchises are typically more successful than established ones. This started a long time ago and when orgs like the Flyers and Islanders were cleaning up on the rest of the league and longstanding established clubs. Now its teams like Vegas and Seattle that are better run and organized than probably 75% of NHL established clubs. It says something about incompetence of established orgs that they are so easily beaten.
Back in 79-80 it was the Oilers, Nordiques, Whalers finding some success despite the odds and despite a brutal entry requirement that only allowed WHA merged clubs to keep two skaters and a goalie. Despite this impediment the Oilers and Nordiques particularly quickly gained ground while NHL blowhard managers were loudly harrumphing that this Gretzky kid won't last a year in the NHL. Theres no way that the upstart Oilers should have managed to put a dynasty together in the 80's. They had to build up from ground level and getting key players while the rest of the NHL was sleeping on drafts and recruitment.
I don't know what it is specifically that causes the NHL in particular to be so often run by dillweeds that limit the success of their respective orgs. Any team that had a reset clause every decade where they just flushed everybody, and I mean everybody from the management, coaching, scouting department and started over with the right head would beat the house consistently. So evident that orgs should start putting this together in the NHL. Blow it up good, start over, every decade. Would help mitigate the rot that infects NHL orgs so commonly.
The NHL is probably the worst run pro league in North America. I guess this isn't a controversial view at all, but would be nice if even half the clubs ever had their shit together.