You're right. But if you stop telling other fanbases how it's done, especially while your team is still in the beginning stages of it, it'll go a long way to removing the "laughing stock" tag. We don't laugh at your team nearly so much as we laugh at you, the fans of the team.
The TML obviously have the largest hockey fanbase. But please, please stop pretending it's hockey heaven. At least until you can land a UFA player (i.e. someone that has to fit under the salary cap, not a coach) whose not David Clarkson.
Don't get me wrong, I think you will land those players. But it's still a few years off. Maybe the timing on Tavares will be right. But until then, why tell us how it's done? We already know how it's done. We're in the end stages of something you're just beginning.
Because it time to lift the blinders off the rest of the league who thinks the Shanaplan is just the beginning. We've very quietly and neatly been getting nice things for the past half decade and have the makings of a predominantly, internally drafted and developed team.
2012 Morgan Rielly - top 5
2013 Middle first - Freddy Gauthier.
2014 William Nylander - top 10
2015 Mitch Marner - top 5
A consensus NHL top five prospect pool before this year's draft.
2016 currently a MINIMUM of 11 picks one of them a top 5 pick by the looks of things.
Next season we will start to see at least two of those picks bear fruit in Nylander and Marner and possibly the 2016 1st.
Add to that the Leipsic's (not too shabby last night, eh), the dark horse Connor Browns, the Kapanens, current solid CHL D studs like Nielsen and Dermott, AHL studs, Percy and Loov.
Zaitsev says he's signing.
Have you met Shoshnikov and Timashov?
Current Euro stud and another late pickup in Andreas Johnson.
PLUS what we pick up this offseason.
We be ready for a Stamkos, I assure you.