Dr Hook said:
Yeah I agree they were bad before the firesale. But the difference is that before their big salary dump, they were at least making an honest effort to put out a competitive team. After the cleanout, that argument cannot be made. The other examples you give, while they may be bad in a general sense, aren't the point here. The specific argument was that the Caps had the most depleted roster so therfore they should get dibs on the next #1 in the draft.
Ok, so you conceed they were bad prior to the sale, but then by ditching the players who aren't performing and can bring players who will eventually make the team better, that should be counted as not trying to win?
There's a realization some of you need to understand and come across... If a team is spending 50+ million and is in the bottom 5 of the league, something's not working right. Spending another 15 million to make the team better just doesn't cut it.
The Caps team prior to the firesale (and yes, that's what it was) had no chance to make the playoffs. That same team wasn't getting any younger either. So, what's your option? Break it all down and start it over, or spend another 15million and patch it up. If you say spend, Welcome to the Rangers. Because you can spend another 15+ million and your team still might stink.
I can see the argument against the Caps getting awarded the top pick straight out, and honestly, I don't think they should. If they win it in a lottery, that's fine. That's not the Caps fault they saw the CBA coming. Or even that they're bad prior to the CBA. A rebuilding had to occur. In a market like Washington, and in many hockey places in general, a retooling just doesn't cut it. Maybe some franchises like Toronto and Philly might learn that you're eventually going to have to build from scratch. And the whole garbage about a team 'not wanting to win' is stupid. Every team wants to win, just, the Caps are looking to win down the road.
Whether they do the dump of players or not, they still would have finished in the Lottery.
The only point some people are trying to make is that 'currently' the Caps would be looking at the top pick, if you take their present roster. However, I doubt highly that the players the Caps have would be the team iced. They will go out and get some players towards making the team competitive. Even with some decent vets added to the blueline and the forwards, they're still looking at a young mistake filled team that probably will be in the bottom of the standings.
I just hope they play some hockey before figuring out the order, so we don't have to listen/read to this garbage about Toronto, Montreal, Ottawa, Tampa Bay, etc. should have a shot/chance at Crosby. The draft is used to make the teams with lesser talent better. Irregardless of any other variables.