If you were a NHL general manager, what would you do in the following scenario?

Question

You have the option of building a team from scratch. Would you build a team to win the Stanley Cup this season (and suffer through five years of mediocrity), or build a team of young players and struggle (and ultimately win the Stanley Cup for the next subsequent seasons)? In other words, instant gratification or long term satisfaction?

I originally said five years of mediocrity because one has to factor in injuries, jealousies, retirements, and the skill factors in the instant gratification scenario.

Icewoman- When he came aboard the Rangers, I thought Slats had lost his touch. All along he had a plan, but he had to clean up the messes left behind by the Neil Smith regime.

288- I've never been sure what direction Columbus is going. Building around Rick Nash is nice and all, but the Jackets are at best a jigsaw puzzle with mismatched (read Sergei Fedorov, Rusty Klesla, Pascal Leclaire) pieces.

Answer 1

Scenario #1
First of all, I assume I have been named GM of an existing franchise that is in the middle of the pack. I will also assume that I have a 5 year contract.

First thing I would do is do an internal assessment of the organization from top to bottom
- coach. I most definitely bring in my own guy
- goaltending. Can my goaltender steal me games? If not. That becomes my highest priority. Goaltenders require the least amount of coaching
- offense. Do I have any 30+ goal scorers? If not. That becomes my second priority.

Goaltending and Offense can be filled through free agency. As a middle of the pack team, I can draft a solid defenceman at position 15.

So, my first year will be a team with a great goaltender, a little bit of scoring, and a young defense.

Each year I continue to assess the team. I draft defense and to start, and then draft forwards.


Scenario #2
First of all, I assume I have been named GM of an existing franchise that is redefining pathetic. I will also assume that I have a 5 year contract.

As with Scenario #1, I do an evaluation of my entire organization.

First thing, I hire my own coach AND scouting staff
Second thing, I buy out all the deadweight
Third thing, I obtain a top-notch goaltender for a 2nd and third round pick
Fourth thing, I call my friend Guido to ensure my ping pong ball pops on draft day
Fifth thing, I draft the best superstar available with the #1 pick
Sixth thing, I surround that superstar and top-notch goalie with cheap solid players (buyouts lowers cap room)

This will keep me just competitive enough to keep the fans happy but still keep me bad enough to get another high draft pick.

By year three (after the buyouts no longer count against the cap) I can start signing fre agents.



I don't believe in instant gratification, but as little mediocrity as possible is what I desire as well.

A top-notch goaltender who can steal games is always key to any team. However, the goalie can get a shut-out every night but if you don;t score, you don;t win - so in order to win, you need a couple of solid goal scorers. As time goes by, you fill the holes as you see fit. If your team is on the rise, your draft picks get lower. You can then use draft picks as currency.

Answer 2

2) Hentai

Nation/culture of origin: Japanese

Everyone knows Japan is weird. DOGS know Japan is weird. Even the Japanese know Japan is weird. Just a few of the shining beacons of peculiarity available in downtown Tokyo include and keep in mind all of these are true maid themed cafes, kigurumi cosplay (not just dressing like an anime character but wearing a full body cover and mask to actually look like an anime character), Loligoths, soiled schoolgirl panties in vending machines, Ice Cucumber Pepsi, bukaki theater (don't ask. Just don't ask), eating sushi off of naked women, robotic secretaries, an actual 1:1 scale Gundam, and karaoke bars.



http://www.topcapshome.com

Answer 3

Well i guess i would build a team from scratch mostly because if you have a bunch of guys that are in their early 20s to start with and for like you said 5 years arent that good but then winning the cup in 5 years these guys are still young after winning the cup and you should still be able to keep most of the guys from the winning team and possibly still have a winning team and they could still be a favorite to win again and then they could still get maybe older veterans that you could probably get for not so much as they would have gotten if they were younger

This was a good question i wouldnt want a team that instantly wins because then its only downhill from there your not going to win every year and you wouldnt want the players to get too big headed and also the fans if they win one year and lose the next year you may lose fans

Answer 4

In either scenario I get the cup which works for me. Unfortunately there are no Guarantees in life. Both Tampa and Ottawa entered the league the same year. Ottawa was brutal and got number 1 pick after number one pick and built a strong team with youth. Initially Tampa went the other route trading picks for veterans and built a stronger initial team. I always believed that the Ottawa approach- build with youth was the best and Ottawa would win a cup long before Tampa. Well Tampa won one first so maybe it is better to build with a mix of veterans and youth.

However after 4-5 seasons Tampa had a few bad ones and got some decent picks.

I still think it is better to build from within

Answer 5

No question about it, the newness of the franchise will run for a few years, so might as well use that time to stink the place out, bank up as much talent as possible for as long as the fanbase holds an interest. Then you have 'parts interchangable' to take a long serious run, a la Senators. Beats the Leaf system of trying to squeek into the playoffs and hope for the best every year. Never get good enough draft picks to improve and end up without tradable talent. Doesn't work.

Answer 6

In today's NHL, building the team to win now is the better option in my opinion. Given the CBA, retaining players over their entire career is going to be difficult at best. Gone are the days of the the dynasties like the Oilers, Canadiens and Islanders. Even if you retain the younger players, your window is still only likely to be one, maybe two cups with that group. It's very likely that the NHL is going to find the balance point sometime in the near future and we will not see the large boost like we have in the past two seasons. Finally, going with young talent is always more of a gamble. How many first round or first overall draft picks have failed to pan out over the years?

Answer 7

Build from youth. I'm a Caps fan and have been willing to deal with the last few years knowing what coming down the road. They will be the best team in the East over the next 5 years if they can resign Ovechkin and Semin

Answer 8

I would go for the long term plan and try to build a winning team. Although mediocrity is the norm now and the day or the dynasty is long gone now that we have a salary cap and the NHL govenors have attained (as close as possible) parity. The days or the Oilers, Canadiens, and Islander dynasties are long and sadly gone.

Answer 9

If you build it, they will come....

You can't throw a bunch of players together and expect them to have chemistry right off the bat and keep it for the full 98+ games (82 regular season games + 16 playoff wins). I'd go with the young players and have them struggle with Brent Sutter coaching them (he really doesn't seem to be doing a good job with older professionals, doesn't he?). That way, they'll be able to learn from their mistakes.

That's the same model the Sens used when they re-entered the league; the Penguins used to rebuild around Crosby; and the Caps around Ovechkin. Can't say the same thing about Colombus though...

Answer 10

I would build the team from scratch with young players like they did in both washington and ottawa but also in Vancouver with the sedin twins. Vancouver had to wait for a few years before the twins started to get up to potential and now Vancouver actually has a chance to go all the way to the cup like they did in 1994