The Sabres, Senators and Red Wings are doing nothing to convince the hockey world of the benefits of rebuilding.
Ottawa, Buffalo and Detroit were all supposed to make a jump in the rankings this season after years of patient reconstruction, a certain progression.
However, these three teams are still excluded from the playoffs according to the most recent National Hockey League rankings. Worse still, the Canadian, in only his second year of reconstruction, is only two points behind the Red Wings and their band of new veterans and is ahead of the Sabers and the Senators by three and ten points respectively.
Ottawa will miss the playoffs for a seventh consecutive season, Detroit could be excluded for an eighth year in a row and Buffalo has not participated in twelve years. No one has done worse in the NHL in this regard.
In this regard, Alexandre Pratt rightly reminds us in his column of the day: a reconstruction is never a guarantee of success. It is not enough to liquidate the veterans, sink in the rankings, draft early and well, play the young people and surround them with veterans when the time comes.
You also have to choose the right players, establish the right culture, find goalies capable of stopping pucks and also, above all, teach your group to play the right way. Leaving its reconstruction in the hands of incompetents is the worst decision ever.
Now is it absolutely necessary to rebuild to ensure the sustainability of its organization as a majority of managers, including those of the Canadian, have been suggesting for several years?
Let’s take an example from the best. To establish a ranking of excellence, let’s say, artisanal, let’s add the number of consecutive participations in the playoffs and the victories in the playoffs.
19 (6 appearances 13 wins)
16 (6 appearances 10 wins)
13 (5 appearances 8 wins)
13 (7 appearances 6 wins)
8 (7 appearances 1 win)
Among these five teams, four are experiencing the fruits of a reconstruction and experienced difficult winters before experiencing success.
The Avalanche missed the playoffs seven out of nine years between 2009 and 2017 and finished 28th or worse overall four times.
The Lightning missed the playoffs five times in six years between 2008 and 2013, finishing 25th or worse three years in a row.
The Hurricanes missed the playoffs nine years in a row between 2010 and 2018 and were drafted in the top 7 five times. The Maple Leafs were left out of the playoffs ten out of eleven times between 2007 and 2016, and were among the worst clubs six times. .
Only the Bruins successfully opted for a reset. They missed the playoffs only two years in a row between two great periods of success, the 2007-2014 and 2017 to present eras.
The Dallas Stars also qualify in the resetter clan. They are sixth in the general rankings, reached the final four last year and the final in 2020, but also missed the playoffs three times in the last seven seasons.
The Minnesota Wild, St. Louis Blues and New York Islanders also fall into the latter category. Never among the powers, never among the weak, and sometimes an unexpected Stanley Cup, like that of the Blues in 2019.
How should you classify the reigning Stanley Cup champions, the Vegas Golden Knights? They reached the Stanley Cup Final in their first year of existence in 2017-2018. They won the Cup last spring a year after missing the playoffs, but had reached the final four two years in a row before. Let’s classify them as indefinable.
Are there any lessons to be learned from all of this? Reconstructions are not guaranteed, obviously. On the other hand, the chances of lasting success are low without a solid reconstruction.
All the more reason to choose the right managers. They are even more important than your stars on the ice.
Nolan Patrick has just announced his retirement at age 25. He has played in just 77 games since the end of the 2019 season and none since March 2022 due to injuries.
He was a consensus first overall pick in 2017 after his 102-point season in just 72 games as a 17-year-old with Brandon, but more modest production in his year of eligibility didn’t stop the Flyers from drafting him second overall , behind Nico Hischier, and ahead of Miro Heiskanen, Cale Makar and Elias Pettersson.
The former member of the Flyers’ committee of wise men, Bob Clarke, also sent a jab to the GM at the time, Ron Hextall, a few years later by publicly accusing him of having overturned the decision of his recruiters and for opting for Nolan Patrick instead of his recruiters’ choice: Cale Makar.
Nolan Patrick amassed 30, then 31 points in his first two seasons in the NHL, before seeing his career destroyed by concussions, among other things.
He was traded to the Nashville Predators in 2021 by Hextall’s successor, Chuck Fletcher, for defenseman Ryan Ellis. He played only four games in Philadelphia before seeing his career cut short by injury too.
A draft pick that still haunts the Flyers today. This means that we must always be wary of preconceived ideas.
