People have been saying that for years. So and so team has the best prospect pool in the league, so and so team will be a cup contender in a few years because they have so much young talent. It rarely ever works out as everyone expects.
Meanwhile, it's like zero of the Red Wings young players/prospects will ever surprise or turn into good players while every other team's young players are just assumed they will progress and hit their ceilings.
The Stanley Cup champions since (and including) Detroit's most recent Cup:
2016: Pittsburgh - Built around Crosby (1 OA, 2005) and Malkin (2OA, 2004)
2015: Chicago - Built around Toews (3OA, 2006) and Kane (1OA, 2007)
2014: Los Angeles - Build around Kopitar (11OA, 2005) Doughty (2OA, 2008) and Quick (72OA, 2005)
2013: Chicago - see 2015
2012: Los Angeles - see 2014
2011: Boston - Built around Krejci (63OA, 2004) Bergeron (45OA, 2003) and Chara (56OA, 1996)
2010: Chicago - see 2015
2009: Pittsburgh - see 2016
2008: Detroit - Built around Datsyuk (171OA, 1998) and Zetterberg (210OA, 1999) [multiple honorable mentions in addition]
With scouting now on a much more even playing field, and the long-term ramifications of the salary cap having taken root, I doubt you will ever see another team like the 2008 Wings. The clear trend is building upon elite talent originally acquired via high draft picks, and (at least for the players listed) this high-end talent won their first Cup an average of 6.4 years after they were drafted.
Yes, clearly there is no foolproof strategy. But in this day and age, SMART (and lucky) drafting with high picks is the most likely route to winning it all, and it most definitely does not require decades to accomplish.