First off, you realize you're in a thread specifically for hot takes?
LAST YEAR. LAST YEAR. They got swept out of the first round. Where they were outscored 19-8. They won as many playoff games as the Red Wings 2018-2019 season. 14 teams finished with more playoff wins.
Those are some nice/good players (Drouin kind of a disappointment for a 3rd overall pick, thanks for helping my point).
Are any of them better than Hedman/Stamkos? Kucherov is certainly there with them.
How has having those nice/good complimentary players worked out for them?
2 division championships in 9 years
0 playoff wins in 5/9 years
That's pretty underwhelming for a "Great GM" that was spotted 2 of the best players in the league and a 3rd overall pick early in his career.
Hey, guess what, the Wings got swept out of the first round multiple times, actually, back in the late 90s, early 2000s, when they were clearly the class of the league. It's almost like the playoffs actually are a crapshoot and people aren't just blowing smoke up your ass when they say any team has a shot. It was a gigantic shock that Tampa lost to Columbus like they did. But Columbus is actually a pretty decent team as well. I mean, sure, the regular season isn't the only thing, but they had 62 damn wins. They were the better team 62 times out of 82. But because they had one bad week of hockey against another ostensibly pretty good team, they're dogshit apparently.
Kucherov is better than Stamkos. Point has a pretty easy argument to be placed on the same level and is six years younger.
Yes, I realize I'm in a thread of hot takes. But hot take doesn't mean that you ignore reality. Tampa Bay is one of the best teams in the NHL. That is an inarguable fact. Steve Yzerman was the guy who built that roster. Sure, say he got the gift of having Stamkos and Hedman on the roster before he got there. He added a Hart winner with a 2nd round pick, he added not one, not two, but three pretty damn good goalies and cut bait at good times (Roloson, Bishop, Vasilevskiy) having traded Cory Conacher and Steve Downie for them.
I guess 2005 USC isn't one of the greatest college football teams of all time because they got beat by Texas then. Or the 2007 Patriots that lost 17-14 in the Super Bowl to finish 18-1 aren't among the greatest NFL teams ever. You can be one of the best teams in the league and not win. That's why they f***ing play the games. On paper, Tampa should have blown Columbus out. In reality, they lost a close game 1 and showed their ass in game 2 to give up home ice to Columbus and Columbus sealed the deal at home.
To add a couple more pertinent Red Wings things...
The "greatest hockey team ever" the 2001-2002 Red Wings with their 9 Hall of Famers were one fluky ass goal that Cloutier gave up and Steve Yzerman on one damn leg refusing to let them lose from dying in the first round. They were one triple OT game away from being in a real damn dog fight against the younger Hurricanes.
The Cup winning team in 2007-2008... if they didn't sign Chris Osgood for like ten bucks and have him as the backup to come in and save the Nashville series would have lost in round one because Hasek sprung a leak.
The Penguins won in 2009 in game 7 because Maxime Talbot played out of his mind in a deciding game. Sidney Crosby sat his ass on the bench injured for the second half of that game 7.
That 2015 Lightning team that made the finals? They almost lost a game 7 to Detroit which they really might have done if the league didn't suspend Kronwall for the hit on Kucherov.
The playoffs are a funky set of circumstances where it usually isn't the best team that wins. It's the team that perseveres and gets luck. So it's not the best idea to say "HAHAHA YOU LOST IN THE PLAYOFFS YOU SUCK!"