brilliant post. we should keep those teams down forever. not only that, but lets reward the best teams that already happen to have the best players, with more of the best young up and coming players
- hugefemale dog77

Agreed. Gee, how did the Pens get so good, anyway?

Agreed. Gee, how did the Pens get so good, anyway?
- BobbySchmautz

By being absolutely terrible for about 8 years and drafting well. They did luck out with crosby, however even without him they are still the top team in the east

Couldn't have worked out any better!

One team will win the Stanley Cup (congrats to them!)
We've already won Seth Jones.

Everyone else in the league ends on a losing note. Thank you and come again!

By being absolutely terrible for about 8 years and drafting well. They did luck out with crosby, however even without him they are still the top team in the east
- Meeqsb

I was attempting to point out the paradox of a previous post
That said teams should not be Rewarded (via the draft) for sucking, which would
Imply that the top teams should get as good a chance at the
Top picks as the 'sucking' teams.
Pens got 2 #1s and 2 #2s in a four year span (I think) plus
Other first rounders. That's why they no longer suck.

It angers me that TB gets Mackinnon or Drouin. They should get neither player with the art ross and the past two rocket richard winners on their team plus a 2nd overall in Hedman. Why'd Calgary have to win all those games at the end of the year. What on earth were they thinking?

Now I know why Colorado won it (it was Jones' destiny), but I kind of wish that Nashville or Calgary would have won it to both knock TB out of the top three and give a player to a franchise that desperately needs it.

Our pick is going to depend on two things: Stephen Weiss and Nick Bjugstad. Does Weiss re-sign? Does Bjugstad have "it"? I think the answers are yes and yes. However, we all know Dale. There is a legit chance to draft one of the best all around goal scoring Centers in the last decade, Big Mac. I'm calling him that, deal with it. Let us assume Weiss comes back, is he our number 1 center? Can he shoulder the load? I don't think he can. Drew Shore had a great start to the season, but really began to slow down as the grind picked up. Shawn Matthias had a terrific season, but the same problem showed up: his production fell mightily as the season wore on. This brings me to Bjugstad. He had a tough go of it his first 3 or so games.. getting acclimated to the NHL RIGHT AFTER playing in college cannot be easy. You go from playing against 16 year old kids to 30 year old men.. it will take a while to get used to it. Once his feet settled down, he started to loosen the grip on his stick, and he finally scored a damn goal. He was great on the boards, and really used his size well. Hopefully he's already drinking some whey protein to bulk up, because once he does so, he will be an unstoppable force. Assuming Weiss re-signs, we could end up with Weiss, Blugstad, Shore, Matthias, Goc.. all at center. Huberdeau is a natural center, as is Mueller and Kopecky. We have some good experience down the middle.

We were never going to draft Jones. The reason #2 hurts so bad is because the Avs would have done anything to get the top pick, and we could have used a decent roster player.. tell me it would be a bad thing to get the #2 pick, Stastny, and draft Drouin?!?! That's what I was hoping for.

Who do I THINK we draft? Nate MacKinnon. If Weiss comes back and Bjugstad is the real deal who should we draft? Jonathan Drouin. Who would I draft? Jonathan Drouin. i haven't seen his blend of size, speed, skill, and finesse in a long time. You can say he's Pavel Bure 2.0, and maybe he is, but he will be a much better all around player than Pavel ever was or could be.

It angers me that TB gets Mackinnon or Drouin. They should get neither player with the art ross and the past two rocket richard winners on their team plus a 2nd overall in Hedman. Why'd Calgary have to win all those games at the end of the year. What on earth were they thinking?

Now I know why Colorado won it (it was Jones' destiny), but I kind of wish that Nashville or Calgary would have won it to both knock TB out of the top three and give a player to a franchise that desperately needs it.
- archromat

Just remember that St. Louis and Lecavailer won't be around much longer. Drouin won't help them that much, the Lightning are a one line team and you can't win like that in the NHL any more.. when you're secondary scorers are guys like Nate Thompson and Teddy Purcell, you won't last long.

Couldn't have worked out any better!

One team will win the Stanley Cup (congrats to them!)
We've already won Seth Jones.

Everyone else in the league ends on a losing note. Thank you and come again!
- Fols19

You win because you get Jones and that's who you NEED. We win because we will either get MacKinnon or Drouin and that's who we NEED. Everyone wins.

It angers me that TB gets Mackinnon or Drouin. They should get neither player with the art ross and the past two rocket richard winners on their team plus a 2nd overall in Hedman.
- archromat

I think Tampa Bay goes down as one of the most oddly put together teams in the entire league. How do you fail with that? That is a classic case of a GM not having a hot clue how to put role players around superstars.