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Organizational changes are certainly on the horizon for most teams. We had some decent back and forth, along with some pondering regarding possible trades. With the draft swiftly approaching, Yzerman’s decisions will be carved into organizational stone soon enough.
Craig Button of TSNhas Detroit picking Drysdale. I don’t put much solidity into anything at this point. Today there are articles linking Askarov, Perfetti, and Rossi to Detroit all over the web. People are making their cases, and feeling “certain” of what direction Yzerman will go. The fact that those 4 names are flying around is simple evidence that nobody really knows. The one thing I’m confident of, Yzerman isn’t being swayed by other people’s picks or opinions.
“Ottawa ownership is demanding Askarov”, will that push Yzerman to grab him at 4? No. If Askarov is the player Yzerman wants, it has nothing to do with someone else’s moves. As with Seider last year, the Captain knows what he is looking to do. And again, it’s not leaking out.
FOMO (fear of missing out) does take its toll on owners, GMs and fans. It forces prices up for Free Agents, and gets people in genuine amounts of trouble. It turns into a ridiculous Toddler toy room battle. The second one toddler picks up one toy in a room full of them, half the other kids want that exact toy. Peer pressure, fear of losing, whatever it is, Yzerman isn’t playing it.
I remember, fondly, the battle for Brad Richards as a UFA. He ended up in New York, but they were entertaining teams. Los Angelos got locked out of the building, and everyone laughed. They had a duffle bag of “goodies” that Richards refused to take. In the end, L.A. has won two cups and Richards was bought out. He did get a cup in Chicago, but his buyout made that possible. Every now and again, winning isn’t winning.
My appetite for the “have to have” free agents dropped off severely after the summer that Parise and Suter ended up in MN. Detroit really wanted Suter. It didn’t work out. Minnesota ownership stated that “no one will pay more for Zach Parise than I will”. Good grief, play a round of poker guys.
Watching Tampa Bay win the cup with three of their own first round picks and a collection of 2nd round and later along with free agents made the point. Stamkos was a stud first rounder, the team won it without him. Hedman was injured off and on. The goalie got them where they needed to be. The scoring, for the most part, was a result of scouting in the later rounds or acquisition. The team you build in character and culture is as important as the draft picks you get. Yes, Detroit was one of the last teams to win without a top 5 draft pick. Chicago and Pittsburgh both had a couple of high pick horses that made the teams. Pitt also followed the Tampa model. First round forward (2), first round defenseman (this is a mistake. I intended Letang, but he was not a first round pick. Embarrassing mistake, my apologies), first round goalie. And a crapload of contributors through trade or development.
It would be a shame if Edmonton or Toronto don’t find success with their core players. That being said, there’s a hell of a lot more that needs to be done to build a winning team. The culture (yes it’s an overused cliche, but still true), the system, players buying in and sacrificing. It all has to come together. Yzerman’s greatest contributions in leadership, in my mind, came after he was almost traded in the mid 90s. His numbers went down, but the entire team was elevated. The Captain gets it, all of it. And I look forward to seeing what his vision looks like in 3 - 5 years.
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