Thank You Ron Wilson… and Jamal Mayers

Blair,
My point wasn’t that drafting isn’t essential … of course it is. But it can’t be the sole mechanism a team relies upon to build. Ideally, a balance between deft drafting, smart free agent aquisitions, and properly-structured contracts (e.g. front-loaded, low cap hit) to maintain core roster players will lead a team to greater success than putting the majority of the focus on just one of those areas.
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For instance, the New York Islanders have had great draft picks for how many years now, and where has that gotten them? The Philadelphia Flyers went to great lengths to lock up the core of their team, and now face serious cap problems with over 44mil committed through the dreaded 2010-11 season. And the New York Rangers, well, we all know the results of their endless UFA spending sprees.
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Counter that with these examples: Anaheim and Detroit are two of the best examples of teams that have built their squads for success now, and with an eye toward the future.
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The core of the Ducks are mid-first round picks Getzlaf and Perry. Both of these guys are signed through 2013 at a very fair 5.3mil cap hit. They found a goaltender with potential (Giguere, what a steal of a deal that was) and developed him into star. They were able to swing a trade for an impact player (Pronger) using picks and prospects they had previously accumulated. And they maintained enough cap space to sign two key free agents (Neidermayer, Selanne) put them over the top.
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As for Detroit, the Wings do three things better than anyone else: find talent in late draft rounds, develop young players, and find free agents who fit their system. Rarely do the Wings go after the best free agents available (Hossa was an interesting exception); rather, they go after players who will fit into the team’s on-ice philosophy/style of play. Further, the Wings are also one of the top teams in the league in terms of keeping their own talent in the fold. Seriously, how many key players leave Detroit via free agency in any given year? They’ve got it right, and will continue to be a contender for several years as a result.

Again, no one, not even tank nation, expects the Leafs’ organization to tank on purpose. As everyone knows, NO ONE TANKS PURPOSEFULLY. The idea is that if they lose it’s no big deal, heck, it may even be better for the franchise (from the fan’s perspective, not the players). That’s what Tank Nation believes – know your enemy before you comment on them. It’s been nice to think that way this season because now when they do lose I don’t feel disappointed. I have no problem with the coaching staff trying to instill a winning attitude in their players – even though a lot of them won’t be part of the team going forward – but if they lose, they lose. It’s only for one season. If there is any hockey fan out there that would rather win meaningless games for the remainder of the season than have a shot at drafting a player like Lecavalier, Ovechkin, Malkin, etc, than you’re putting your team in a position for years in the future to not win as much as you could have with that superstar player. As a fan, I know the Leafs are going to be bad this season, so why not make it worthwhile? If they’re going to be close to that draft position anyways, why not cheer for them to get closer to it? If all goes according to plan, the Leafs won’t have a shot at a such a high draft pick for the next decade.

And let’s not kid ourselves here. Yes, you can draft quality players later in the draft outside the top ten. But the idea of the draft is that the best players go first. Not always true, but more likely than finding as good a player later in the draft.

Obviously, the draft is only one faucet, but in a rebuild’s first year when your organization lacks front line talent, this draft is probably the most important draft for the Leafs to achieve success according to their time frames for success.

AMEN, Alec, AMEN.
It’s about damn time.

If the leafs tanked Wilson would just blame it on the media.

@Leafsweet
Sorry couldn’t hear you, seems like you’ve got your mic off.
@Alec
Completely agree. The leafs did exactly what I wanted and hoped would happen this year. Play and showcase as many rookies as they could, while remaining competitive and instilling a sense of tenacity and belligerence in the entire roster. We lose games; bummer. Not a huge loss though as it means a quality draft pick in June. We win; excellent. A a win is always great. Here’s too a season devoted to learning.