Funny I bet pens fans were not talking about the system being broken when they drafted Lemieux, Crosby, and Malkin. Your superstars show the slightest sign of aging while your GMs casually throw around draft picks and now it's time to abolish the draft and give everyone a shot. Waaaaaaa my penguins won't be good forever! Abolish drafts! Drafts are unfair! Waaaaa!
- ZemgusTurtlsons

lol

Good use of waa.

No, they don't if the player is <20 and Kapanen is 18.
- jfkst1

He should be here by next week as well. Only about 6 regular season games for WBS will be left by then. Would playoff games count as more than 10 a year? But good point about the under 20 thing. Didn't know that.

He should be here by next week as well. Only about 6 regular season games for WBS will be left by then. Would playoff games count as more than 10 a year? But good point about the under 20 thing. Didn't know that.
- znagle

It doesn't make any distinction between regular season and postseason so I don't think it matters. Just >9 NHL games burns a year of ELC.

All non playoff teams have the same % chance to get the number 1 pick, and you can fall as far back as 14th, even if you have the worst record.

Or throw all teams in the bucket, all having the same % chance, regardless of place finished, and order the draft that way, but snake it... you pick last in 1st round, you pick 1st in second round, etc..

There are lots of solutions that will kill the tank mode.

Find a solution and say... 3 years from now, this will happen.

Gives everyone a chance to get their crap together for the new reality.

Letang for McDavid (if the Oilers get the first pick)

Would you do it?

Funny I bet pens fans were not talking about the system being broken when they drafted Lemieux, Crosby, and Malkin. Your superstars show the slightest sign of aging while your GMs casually throw around draft picks and now it's time to abolish the draft and give everyone a shot. Waaaaaaa my penguins won't be good forever! Abolish drafts! Drafts are unfair! Waaaaa!
- ZemgusTurtlsons

See my post above regarding revisionist history. Beyond that, I don't think the majority of Penguins fans take any issue with the situation re tanking. Our blogger might, but he doesn't speak for most of us (this is true about a great many things).

Letang for McDavid (if the Oilers get the first pick)

Would you do it?
- znagle

Yes, but why would the Oilers? They would be nuts not keep McDavid and instead trade some of their other young forwards for defense.

Not all lotto teams are tanking though, they just suck. Teams need that draft advantage to get back on their feet and give their fans something to look forward to. As Pittsburgh knows, teams that are in trouble in their markets might not make it without that light at the end of the tunnel.

Yes, but why would the Oilers? They would be nuts not keep McDavid and instead trade some of their other young forwards for defense.
- Emperor Filonius

Eberle and Hall are the only ones that will get them any solid defenseman. Those are 2 of their top 3 players. Only Hall could fetch Letang most likely too. That would be instant help under contract long term. They also need a righty. Letang is a proven superstar as McDavid is just a prospect. Risk both ways.

Not all lotto teams are tanking though, they just suck. Teams need that draft advantage to get back on their feet and give their fans something to look forward to. As Pittsburgh knows, teams that are in trouble in their markets might not make it without that light at the end of the tunnel.
- Zezel

Bingo. The draft, and the prospect of young stars, presents the promise of hope. Take away the draft and the mechanism its provide and you would have chaos. Whether your team is tanking or just flat out stinks, the fans have to have hope.

Letang for McDavid (if the Oilers get the first pick)

Would you do it?
- znagle

I don't think any of these terrible teams would trade the 1st pick for Crosby, much less Letang, because it wouldn't matchup with their rebuilds (Crosby would be long past his prime by the time the team had rebuilt).

Eberle and Hall are the only ones that will get them any solid defenseman. Those are 2 of their top 3 players. Only Hall could fetch Letang most likely too. That would be instant help under contract long term. They also need a righty. Letang is a proven superstar as McDavid is just a prospect. Risk both ways.
- znagle

Don't forget RNH as well. You have to give to get. They don't necessarily need a Letang, they just need better defenseman than the ones they have now, and trading any of RNH, Eberle, or Hall would bring a top pairing NHL defenseman in return, and by adding Mcdavid, you are still upgrading at forward in the end. More than anything they need better goaltending and defense. They have tradable assets to acquire either.

The Penguins traded Craig Simpson, their first round pick who was a 90 point per year young winger for Paul Coffey. He was widely regarded as the second best player on the team behind Mario , but the Pens needed a guy like Coffey to run the power play. The rest is history. Thanks the kind of bold move the Oilers need to make, IMHO.

Also anyone who thinks the NHL rigged the draft for Pittsburgh, or that it's ever rigged, is insane.

Also anyone who thinks the NHL rigged the draft for Pittsburgh, or that it's ever rigged, is insane.
- Zezel

Holy poop! A fan of another team that doesn't think Bettman rigged that draft?

Don't forget RNH as well. You have to give to get. They don't necessarily need a Letang, they just need better defenseman than the ones they have now, and trading any of RNH, Eberle, or Hall would bring a top pairing NHL defenseman in return, and by adding Mcdavid, you are still upgrading at forward in the end. More than anything they need better goaltending and defense. They have tradable assets to acquire either.
- Emperor Filonius

Yeah that's why I said 2 of 3 but then trading RNH leaves them with no 1c and they would be foolish to trade RNH. Although McDavid could replace him eventually. Eberle would need another good piece for Letang as well. Trading one of their forwards will leave yet another hole on their team. RNH for Letang would be their best chance. But 9.9/10 times Letang wouldn't waive there anyway.

Letang for McDavid (if the Oilers get the first pick)

Would you do it?
- znagle

I think 58 has a full NMC, so the question is would 58 do it? Nope!

Holy poop! A fan of another team that doesn't think Bettman rigged that draft?
- znagle

The theory is just so completely nonsensical. I often point out why the rigged draft theory makes no sense when it comes up on the Leaf threads, but it's like arguing with paranoid schizophrenics, there's no point.

Yeah that's why I said 2 of 3 but then trading RNH leaves them with no 1c and they would be foolish to trade RNH. Although McDavid could replace him eventually. Eberle would need another good piece for Letang as well. Trading one of their forwards will leave yet another hole on their team. RNH for Letang would be their best chance. But 9.9/10 times Letang wouldn't waive there anyway.
- znagle

Why even have a team in EDM at this point? They always suck, nobody wants to play there, they must overpay for average players.

I think 58 has a full NMC, so the question is would 58 do it? Nope!
- sammy87

Yeah that's what I said in my last comment. Just a "would you" proposal.

The theory is just so completely nonsensical. I often point out why the rigged draft theory makes no sense when it comes up on the Leaf threads, but it's like arguing with paranoid schizophrenics, there's no point.
- Zezel

Try that to Flyers, Rags or Isles fans. They'll argue that grass isn't green.

Why even have a team in EDM at this point? They always suck, nobody wants to play there, they must overpay for average players.
- sammy87

For as bad as they are they still make money

Try that to Flyers, Rags or Isles fans. They'll argue that grass isn't green.
- znagle

I like to think that most fans that try to argue that the draft was rigged in Pitt's favor just say it because they know it pisses Pens fans off. I hope that not many of them truly believe it.

All new player acquisition systems are going to be flawed.

The Yost suggestion will encourage the kind of ridiculous salary dump trades the NBA has been experiencing for the past two decades. And then you've got the issue that the teams most needed help aren't going to be willing or able to spend to the cap ceiling, and you'd have a rich get richer scenario like the baseball draft.

The other guy's suggestion, to have the team with the best record after bring eliminated get the top pick, would just encourage teams to tank early. The best way to get the best record after elimination would be to be the first team eliminated. So nothing would really change except the timing.

The great equalizer in all of this is that the NHL draft, even at the very top, is still very much a crapshoot.

Fine the way it is, just no back to back years 1st overall pick.

Try that to Flyers, Rags or Isles fans. They'll argue that grass isn't green.
- znagle

It's crazy. Their owners in particular would never allow it to happen. There's no believable motivation for anyone to do it.