One of the most debated topics for fans of the Toronto Maple Leafs hockey club, is the strategy that should be utilized, to try and build a team that can someday contend for a championship, as opposed to one that can only contend for a spot in the playoffs, on an annual basis. The Detroit Red Wings are the model franchise in the NHL, for how to build a top team that remains a championship contender for years on end. With the blueprint of Hall Of Fame executive vice president Jim Devellano,and general manger Ken Holland, the Wings game plan, which has evolved into a dynastic four Stanley Cup championships since 1998, is quite simple,and enormously successful,as illustrated by not only their championships, but also their 20 straight years of qualifying for the NHL playoffs, ( 1990-2010, as detailed by Wikipedia.) which is an incredible achievement as well.
When Devellano took over as general manager in 1982, he told the then new team owners, Mike and Marion Ilitch, that he would not be trading any first round draft picks. The Red Wings were true to that policy, and only waivered from it, when they had become a serious contender for the Stanley Cup.
Some analysts in the media, have done a poor job in dissecting the Detroit approach, by focusing only on the trading of first round picks, and completely ignoring the timing of when those picks were dealt, which occurred after the core of the team was in place for a run at a championship. Anyone who has taken the time to speak with Devellano, will know that trading high picks was absolutely out of the question, under any circumstance, until the Wings had met Devellano’s determined level of excellence, finishing near the top of the standings. At that point, they felt they could deal picks that were near the very bottom of the first round, and thus, not likely to be franchise type players. Having said that, what has separated Detroit from most teams in the NHL, is the ability of their scouts, to find elite players in the later rounds of the draft. The Red Wings European scout, Hakan Anderson, has excelled at finding great prospects, who were selected outside of the first round of the draft. As detailed in the website “Future Considerations”, May 28, 2010: ( Tomas Holmstrom, 257th, 1994: Pavel Datsyuk, 171st, 1998: Henrik Zetterberg, 210th, 1999: Jiri Hudler, 52nd, Tomas Flieschmann, 63rd, –ended up in Washington-, Valtteri Flippula, 95th, Jonathan Ericsson, 291st….. all in the 2002 draft: Johan Franzen, 97th, 2004.) Prior to that, the Wings drafted six time Norris Trophy winner, future Hall Of Fame member, and one of the greatest to ever play in the NHL, Nicklas Lidstrom, 53rd overall in 1989.
Some hockey analysts and fans mock the draft, and point to first round selections who did not fair well in the league, or make the impact that was expected of them, by the teams that selected them. There are however, other franchises who have performed quite well with both early picks and later selections as well. Aside from Detroit, teams like the San Jose Sharks, now a consistent contender who are still trying to win their first Stanley Cup, as well as the Chicago Blackhawks, Pittsburgh Penguins, Washington Capitals, Vancouver Canucks,( Leafs G.M. Brian Burke’s former team: Burke selected the Sedin brothers in the draft) , Philadelphia Flyers, the NHL’S most successful “expansion” franchise (1967), are now teams that are in the conversation for most hockey fans and analysts, as the ones who have the best chance to win the Stanley Cup, or are recent winners, with the type of franchise players, who will likely keep their teams in contention for several years. The top players on those teams were selected in the draft, and much like Detroit, when they approached the top contender spots in the league, they are able to swap draft picks for current players who would match their specific needs, as well as signing free agents, to try and win the Stanley Cup. That is when trading first round draft picks make sense, when they are near the bottom of the selection process, thus not likely to be a major sacrifice or gamble, by the teams who have made the transaction.
The most consistent contending teams in other sports, also have been primarily assembled through the drafting of players: The New England Patriots, Pittsburgh Steelers, Indianapolis Colts, Green Bay Packers, New Orleans Saints, New York Giants, the CFL’s Saskatchewan Roughriders, and Montreal Alouettes, Major League Baseball’s Boston Red Sox under the leadership of Theo Epstein, the Tampa Bay Rays the last few years, all of the baseball teams that Hall Of Fame general manager Pat Gillick has been associated with, as well as the NBA’s San Antonio Spurs, have all been built, through the draft, and then supplemented with trades, and free agents.
This blueprint for long term success is fool proof. When fans and analysts point to poor draft picks and disappointments, they strangely forget to suggest that the scouts making the choices, may not have been effective in their task of finding gifted prospects. If the scout isn’t capable of selecting the right type of players, it doesn’t mean that drafting players isn’t the best way to build a contending club. It only means the team in question, has to do better in hiring their scouts. Why would that be any different than any other function in professional sports ? How dumb is it for people to fault the draft itself, as opposed to those who make poor choices when selecting ? Obviously, some teams are enjoying tremendous success in the draft. It can’t be disputed, that this is the best and proven method, for building championship calibre, and in some cases, dynasty teams.