???
No. You keep filling the pipeline with prospects obviously. With Tavares here however, I just think the prospects (even if they come from lower parts of the draft), come into a much healthier and motivated environment.
Again - it just all comes down to what you think is a better way of rebuilding:
Option #1: Be a bottom feeder for years on end, with the hope that you "win the lottery" and draft a Generational Superstar or enough High end franchise stars to carry your team forward.
Option #2: Create a solid environment where a young team is consistently pushing for and making the playoffs. Draft players and prospects from the middle rounds, and inject them into a young and motivated environment.........lead by the likes of Horvat, Pettersson, Boeser, and what will hopefully be a core defensive piece from this draft.
Many on here think that #1 is better. I personally believe that #2 is better. More times than not, #1 leads to a "dead" internal atmosphere and players that have lost their spirit. Teams like Edmonton, Buffalo, Arizona, etc., etc. have been unfortunate examples of this. More times than not, the "success" stories that come out of option #1 are from organizations that have been in a rut for over 10+ years. The people that are praising a team like Winnipeg now, aren't factoring in the years of abuse they took.
FYI - Vancouver's current best player was drafted at #23. What does that tell you?
Take a look at Boston right now and how quickly they turned things around. Draft picks and prospects drafted pretty much anywhere but the top...........and are now surrounded by a great leadership group that consists of Bergeron, Krejci, Chara, and Marchand.
Pointing out other teams that have done it doesn’t mean we can do it. I mean, Benning’s been here since 2014. Most of Boston’s young core have been drafted since 2014.
Tavares does little besides move us from drafting top 7 to drafting 10-15. Still not a playoff team, not with this defense. And now we waste 4 years trying to chase playoffs - which for Benning means trading for guys like Prust, Sutter, and Gudbranson and signing UFAs like Eriksson - rather than actually focus on building up our young talent base and augmenting what we’ve got currently.
You constantly want to skip the difficult parts of a rebuild and simply UFA your way back to the playoffs. This is why I think you should be a fan of Calgary’s rebuild. They didn’t spend long at the bottom and got back into playoffs relatively fast. Look at how all that playoff experience paid off for them this year!