But he's not wrong, the best teams draft well, and trade well and use free agency well.
It's as simple as it gets. Like 1 2 3.
Yes but drafting is the
biggest and highest priority and the other 2 methods far less important and less used options by the majority of successful teams. So granted they're all options but not equal in team building importance\priority.
Nobody believes drafting is the only way and a team is 100% drafted and developed but its the primary one.
Priority 1). Draft picks are free assets because the NHL hands them out to every team every season and then teams use them to acquire the next wave of young talent entering the league. In a cap world its also the most economical because rookie contracts are salary capped at $925k plus bonuses and are your cheapest NHL contracts. They also help offset your star player contracts to help assemble stronger teams.
Key Point: When teams like Anaheim, Detroit, Pitts and Chicago won their Cups players like Perry, Getzalf, Zetterberg, Franson, Malkin, Toews and Kane were all on their entry level capped contracts or 2nd bridge deals for < $2 mil. That was the secret to their Cup success having high impact draft picks on cheap contracts allowing them to spend to the cap and assemble strong teams. These players were among the teams highest scoring in the playoffs and among the Conn Smythe winners.
If your paying your players $8 and $7 mil and elite money already, you only have so much to spend on the rest of the team. The window for Cup success relies heavily on ELC contracts as your best opportunity.
Priority #2) When you make trades you have assets out and assets in and the benefit to your team is only the difference not the full amount of impact. Kessel came at the expense of Seguin, Hamilton and 2nd. Leafs traded 3 assets for 1 and Seguin at only 22 has already surpassed Kessel best career totals already.
Priority #3) UFA spending is the worst option because although the player comes free of asset loss or exchange other then money, everyone knows these contracts are inflationary due to supply and demand and thus your highest contracts in a Cap World and often your most regrettable ones. Komisarek, Connolly, Armstrong, Clarkson are not smart moves to go UFA shopping for NHL talent and the main reason teams use it is to fill holes your own drafting and developing can't provide or try and put your team over the top with that last piece of the puzzle. (the exception the few elite players that hit the market (ie Suter and Parise) but still come at a very steep price.
