What's the best way to build a championship team?

Question

In the new NHL, where no team can simply buy the most talented players, parity amongst the 30 teams is as high as it has ever been. What strategy should a GM adopt to best separate his team from the rest of the pack?

Answer 1

The best way to build is through young talent and the draft... a championship calibre team nowadays is built on young, cheaper talent that allows the team to have more depth and roll more lines. Buffalo is a great example of a team that has built on a few veteran players and a gaggle of talent that came through their AHL farm club in Rochester (ahem... go Amerks!).

Also, it doesn't hurt to have good talent evaluators to get the gems lower in the draft and through trades. Consider Kenny Holland in Detroit... this guy can find a diamond in the rough anyplace. I remember a few years ago when he traded a bag of pucks and a signed picture of Gordie Howe for Larry Murphy. He was old and washed up for the Leafs, but he ended being a huge contributor to the Cup winning Wings. Old example, but the lesson holds true in today's NHL too...

Answer 2

like stated above, i believe there was a question about it like three weeks ago asking who would you rather have if you were starting a team crosby or louongo? I said roberto, heres why a he plays on a team with not if any fire power without the sedins, second hes a brick wall in there, and third crosby's team got eliminated, and loungo is still in the playoffs

with that said, you need a goalie first and foremost, secondly speedy players is a must, you need a good mixture of home grown talent that are fast and can be inserted into the lineup at any time without worry, you need two types of defensemen, a stay at home type and one that has offensive threat which are hard to come by. secondyl you need big bodies to be able to wear other teams down, and of course you need goal scorers, snipers, and espcially smart players that are willing to play for the better of the team anot cause problems in the locker room. you need players that know how to read plays and anc be held accountable for their mistakes when they do something stupid. a good example of a non-selfish team look at the sharks, they have speed, good mixture of home grown talent, and superstars, two very good goalies, big players that can wear you down as the series goes on, smart coaching, did i mention fast? also have snipers, and playmakers. and most importanly leadership in marleau and guerin and big joe

Answer 3

You need to do it ALL. All the best teams have a good mixture of home-grown talent and free agents, for one thing, but is not a matter of HOW you build the team, it really is more about what you build the team into. You need great goaltending. You need solid defense. You need scoring depth. You need clutch players. You need grit AND talent. There is no one way to pull this off. You just need to be smart, have a good scouting staff, and hope you get lucky.

Answer 4

First and foremost, you need a great goalie. a goalie cant really win a game, just lose them, and you need a goalie who doesnt lose too many games. your goalie has to push his teammates to become better shooters in practice.
next, you need some good defence. defence is the key to winning. you need some tough defence. in todays nhl, you only need one enforcer. focus on defence who do their job well.
next, you need some good forwards. you cant win if you dont score goals, and these are the guys to do it. you can only afford so much talent up here in the nhl, so get some good players.
these players need to be competiters. they have to be willing to do the dirty work, and make the sacrifices needed to win each game. you need leaders, but not too many. you need responsible players, players who know that each mistake will cost the game. you need depth, because while your stars are taking a much needed break, you can rely on others to do just as well as those guys. you need your players to work hard every practice, and improve every day.
you need chemistry. your lines need to gel.
you need a great coach who can get these things out of his players.
the best teams have all of these components.
Go devils!