Some real awful takes in here... Rebuild has failed?
Seider, 22
Raymond, 21
Edvinsson, 20
Cossa, 20
Kasper, 19
2023 10th overall, 18
2023 17th overall, 18
Rasmussen (24), Berggren (23), Wallinder (21), Mazur (21), Johannson (22), Buium (20), Buchelnikov (19), +15 other U22 lottery tickets, + another 3 2023 2nd rounders/2023 draft
I'm not worried in the slightest, we've got players. The team culture needs to be developed as well, you need something for these kids to grow into. Yzerman doesn't want to wait until the 20 year olds all age enough to be good by themselves, he wants to build the team up around the pipeline and create asset optionality. Our prospect pool is huge, development is what we need to be investing in now to capitalize on assets.
The Sabres rebuild is what it looks like when you don't do anything but suck and draft. They look promising today, but it took how long to get here? 10+ years? What about the Oilers? How much faster would those rebuilds have been if the team had a culture and system to learn in? (The Edm/Buf way can also obliterate cap sustainability due to the provision of high leverage/opportunity to young players)
The conference is tough ahead of us, but we are going to have a deep, defensively sound team built to counter high-octane offense. This team has a distinct direction to acquire and develop assets, a clear team structure they are looking for, and a desire to create and maintain a strong culture (Larkin, Perron, Chiarot, Lalonde). Yzerman doesn't want to go on a run or two. He wants to build a sustainable playoff contender that lasts for 10+ years.
We will continue to build further through trade/free agency this offseason.