Proposal: Finish the Rebuild

[Johnny Canucker]

I'd like us to eye the playoffs as well, but that Toronto game should be a wake up call for those of us that feel we're close to being the complete team we'd like to be. It doesn't seem like we quite have enough. We've got some good pieces, but after the top 6 players, it starts to fall off fast. To round us out, we're going to be relying on the development of a lot of the younger prospects like Quinn, Woo, Juolevi, and even guys like Hutton, Virtanen, and Stetcher who are still fairly new as well as other potentials like Rathbone, Madden, and others. But because of the large number of slots to be solidified, it's going to take some time to see what we have and gain some consistency.

The risk with what you're saying is that we become a middling team with a poor shot at prospects and not on an improving swing. There may be a good time to sacrifice the future for a great several years of playoff shots, but I don't think we're there yet.

Shutout 4 games in the last 7.... that’s actually hard to do. We are nowhere close to being a competitive playoff team. Not close.

 

[Var]

Shutout 4 games in the last 7.... that’s actually hard to do. We are nowhere close to being a competitive playoff team. Not close.

I agree with you. And actually, I'm not a fan of "buying" in most cases even if we were close - at least at the prices that most teams have demonstrated. Here's the what I see happening to buying teams:

- The player they bring in is used to a different style of play, different coach, different linemates who have different instincts on plays and all that. They're often also used in different situations where they're more unfamiliar and just aren't used to that particular team's brand of hockey. The net effect is that they're often not as effective in various ways.
- The player usually didn't ask for the trade. Most take it on the chin as part of the business, but rarely are they over the top enthusiastic about the whole thing. It's very common that the rental player feels acts like a rental player and isn't fully plugged into the team. They usually underproduce.
- The buying team produces a development hole that makes success hard to sustain when you lack up and coming players. It's already harder to develop well when you're drafting low but then you make it that much worse by trading away picks. It doesn't seem to be clear that there's a time when a team couldn't use another good up and coming rookie player.