nope.
we will stay at 10 or whereever our pick lands. We will draft a safe Center probably
Mccann, then we will hear the " we still believe in this group we have a very young core blah blah blah" even tho our core of
Phaneuf, Kessel are both off their ELC, they are recieving big ticket contracts for choke after choke after choke. no changes will be made, we wont move up to try and get our future #1 C, we wont move back to acquire more picks that we gave up for rentals (bolland). We will forever have a mediocure farm system, have a forever mediocure team unless we rebuild through the draft... but just look at the oilers building through the draft doesn't work!
McCann would not be a safe pick. Just because he already knows how to play an elite defensive game does not make him a safe pick. It just means he has a high hockey IQ. He is where he is in the this draft because the type of goals and points he gets offensively translate to the NHL, all the while, having the instincts to play good defense. Why do you think lots of players who can match the points of guys like Michael Dal Colle won't even go in the first round. No one around the 10 pick has much top line potential. And if they ever do make it to the top line, then they definitely went above expectations or hit another gear. Getzlaf, Perry, Giroux, do you think ANA and PHI knew they were getting a first line player?
It is also not fair to put all the blame on Kessel & Phaneuf. Hockey is a team sport, and management, all the way down to the 4th line grinders should be held accountable.
As for the OP, this team needs to stay away from large UFA signings and any blockbuster trades for the next couple years. If you can somehow drop contracts like Clarkson & Gleason great, but otherwise, try to not add more of them. Let all your UFAs walk unless they want to stay at a discount (i.e. McClement/Kulemin might want to stay). They can absolutely, draft & develop there way out of this mess, as long as they clean house in management and coaching. The Leafs farm system is full of talented future 3rd/4th liners, as well as a handful of prospects with a shot at a top 6 role. We also have an abundance of prospects who could one day be a #3-6D in Percy, Granberg, Knodel, MacWilliam, Nilsson, Loov & Finn.
All it will take is patience. This won't happen overnight. They will need 2-3 years before we even begin to reap the benefits of doing this. You can call is a rebuild, retool, being patient or building depth. It doesn't really matter. But this team won't be a contender in the next 5 years if we continue down the current path.
