The draft is a joke. Here is why

- Teams can intentionally throw the season, suck ass, and suffer through poor attendance and revenue but be kept afloat from revenue sharing

- These teams are REWARDED with the highest draft picks and the next generation of best players (and through the CBA and stuff like RFA, retained with relative ease). These young players generally are less of a cap hit too.

- These teams go on to become elite teams

- Teams that play with integrity and do not purposefully throw the season are DISADVANTAGED by having mediocre draft picks. These teams are keeping the other teams alive through revenue sharing. These teams don't get the best young talent and to stay competitive they must pay older players more $$$ to play for them. They are constantly battling the cap.

The NHL needs to make the draft completely random and that is the only way it is fair
- Atreides

I couldn't agree more.

could be worse.

we could have no cups, ever, and a team heading straight into the gutter
- big_dion

We haven't had a cup since the modern age of the NHL, since it expanded from 6 teams, and our team has been swimming in the gutter for almost a decade.

Cant get much worse.

so you're saying that any time a player has found out that they were included in a trade proposal by their GM, their career with that team was over? i don't think so. just because Franson was the player going the other way, doesn't mean the Leafs don't want him.
- DoubleDown

Can we at least pretend that it does...???

I have lost a lot of respect for Bolland. He doesn't care about winning anymore. In his mind he has won two cups, an OHL championship, and a Memorial cup so now all he wants is money.
- JVR_42_PK81

Considering the difference in annual contract value is what it takes a well-employed "normal person" 8 years to earn (let alone the total annual value) it is pretty difficult to say none of us would do the same thing given the opportunity. Many players go after the money first, then try to fill up the trophy case later in their career...hard to say that this is in any way offside in my opinion. He maximized his value at a point in his career he earned the opportunity to do so...hard to begrudge that. Even at $4.7M he is overpaid and will likely only play 60% of the season anyway. Sorry it didn't work out Dave - see you in Oct.

so you're saying that any time a player has found out that they were included in a trade proposal by their GM, their career with that team was over? i don't think so. just because Franson was the player going the other way, doesn't mean the Leafs don't want him.
- DoubleDown

I'm pretty sure the leafs dont want him because they dont want to pay market value for any D-man at the moment for franson

The draft is a joke. Here is why

- Teams can intentionally throw the season, suck ass, and suffer through poor attendance and revenue but be kept afloat from revenue sharing

- These teams are REWARDED with the highest draft picks and the next generation of best players (and through the CBA and stuff like RFA, retained with relative ease). These young players generally are less of a cap hit too.

- These teams go on to become elite teams

- Teams that play with integrity and do not purposefully throw the season are DISADVANTAGED by having mediocre draft picks. These teams are keeping the other teams alive through revenue sharing. These teams don't get the best young talent and to stay competitive they must pay older players more $$$ to play for them. They are constantly battling the cap.

The NHL needs to make the draft completely random and that is the only way it is fair
- Atreides

the success of the oilers blue jackets and panthers is a testament to this

they could certainly end up being competitive.
- DoubleDown

I believe they will be.

could be worse.

we could have no cups, ever, and a team heading straight into the gutter
- big_dion

Wow, you should look around a bit.

Have a look at what Benning has done? The cupboard is getting stocked up a bit. Gaunce, Cedarholm, Corrado, Horvat, Shinkaruk, McCann, Virtanen, Fox and Demko.

Mike Augello: Leafs Foiled By Florida Teams In Free Agency
- mikeinbuffalo

So what we are really dealing with here is 'Plan B'. Awesome.

(frank), I'd rather have a blank hole in the lineup than Ott at $3m+

In terms of actual play I'm sure that Holland will give us much more value for money...
- lumlums

Holland will already be in the line up.
We paid 3 mil for komarov, so 3 mil for Ott wont be too bad.

So what we are really dealing with here is 'Plan B'. Awesome.
- fifty__missions

If Plan A was re-signing Bolland @ 4.9 and trading Franson for Gorges, I'm OK with plan B

No.

We need to steer clear of him. The kids can do the same job for half the money or less....
- lumlums

which ones?

Wow, you should look around a bit.

Have a look at what Benning has done? The cupboard is getting stocked up a bit. Gaunce, Cedarholm, Corrado, Horvat, Shinkaruk, McCann, Virtanen, Fox and Demko.
- moondawg

They are looking better.

The draft is a joke. Here is why

- Teams can intentionally throw the season, suck ass, and suffer through poor attendance and revenue but be kept afloat from revenue sharing

- These teams are REWARDED with the highest draft picks and the next generation of best players (and through the CBA and stuff like RFA, retained with relative ease). These young players generally are less of a cap hit too.

- These teams go on to become elite teams

- Teams that play with integrity and do not purposefully throw the season are DISADVANTAGED by having mediocre draft picks. These teams are keeping the other teams alive through revenue sharing. These teams don't get the best young talent and to stay competitive they must pay older players more $$$ to play for them. They are constantly battling the cap.

The NHL needs to make the draft completely random and that is the only way it is fair
- Atreides

What will your complaint be when Pittsburgh, Chicago, LA, Anaheim, etc. add players like McDavid, or MacKinnon or Ekblad (etc) and go on to become even more dominant, creating a league where the best players play on 20% of the teams their whole career.

Point is - there is a reason EVERY LEAGUE in North America has an entry draft that orders teams from weakness to strength...because it is a model that is tried and tested.

There are no guarantees to any draft, regardless the order...that's why they're called prospects.

So what we are really dealing with here is 'Plan B'. Awesome.
- fifty__missions

Its Toronto...they have no choice but to go with Plan B and C

If Plan A was re-signing Bolland @ 4.9 and trading Franson for Gorges, I'm OK with plan B
- TheThrill

Absolutely.. I don't think Bolland is worth more than 3 million.. Yes he scored some big playoff goals but really? that money for Dave Bolland? WE already gave the insane contract last year to Clarkson just thrilled that the msitake wasnt repeated. Good luck in Florida to Average Joe

could be worse.

we could have no cups, ever, and a team heading straight into the gutter
- big_dion

what ever makes you feel better big d...

I couldn't agree more.
- walshyleafsfan

no, it's absolutely ridiculous. the idea of "tanking" is stupid too, especially with a cap floor. this isn't baseball. no one can pull a Houston in the NHL. no one tanks. no one sets out to suck. teams try to be good and through incompetence and sheer mathematics, they suck. and when you suck, you have 2 options: stay the course and continue to suck or strip to the studs and rebuild. there is absolutely NOTHING noble about striving for mediocrity, which is what teams like Montreal and Toronto have done for years. the system works fine.

Wow, you should look around a bit.

Have a look at what Benning has done? The cupboard is getting stocked up a bit. Gaunce, Cedarholm, Corrado, Horvat, Shinkaruk, McCann, Virtanen, Fox and Demko.
- moondawg

All I see are busts, nothing but busts. Ha!

No I kid, , Benning is steering the ship on the right path.

What will your complaint be when Pittsburgh, Chicago, LA, Anaheim, etc. add players like McDavid, or MacKinnon or Ekblad (etc) and go on to become even more dominant, creating a league where the best players play on 20% of the teams their whole career.

Point is - there is a reason EVERY LEAGUE in North America that has an entry draft orders from weakness to strength...because it is a model that is tried and tested.
- Deeps27

He wouldnt be complaining if Toronto could successfully build a winning team by drafting a top player once in while.
Instead they too good to be really bad and to bad to make the playoffs.

*tanks*

The draft is a joke. Here is why

- Teams can intentionally throw the season, suck ass, and suffer through poor attendance and revenue but be kept afloat from revenue sharing

- These teams are REWARDED with the highest draft picks and the next generation of best players (and through the CBA and stuff like RFA, retained with relative ease). These young players generally are less of a cap hit too.

- These teams go on to become elite teams

- Teams that play with integrity and do not purposefully throw the season are DISADVANTAGED by having mediocre draft picks. These teams are keeping the other teams alive through revenue sharing. These teams don't get the best young talent and to stay competitive they must pay older players more $$$ to play for them. They are constantly battling the cap.

The NHL needs to make the draft completely random and that is the only way it is fair
- Atreides

Bullpoop. The Detroit Red Wings are testament to a well-managed hockey organization that has drafted well without high picks.

*tanks*
- AdamFrench

He wouldnt be complaining if Toronto could successfully build a winning team by drafting a top player once in while.
Instead they too good to be really bad and to bad to make the playoffs.
- Fakepartofme

So the fix is changing the draft structure for 30 teams so Toronto is rewarded for a poor drafting record?

Bullpoop. The Detroit Red Wings are testament to a well-managed hockey organization that has drafted well without high picks.
- fifty__missions

Exactly.