THE CHALLENGE OF BUILDING A STANLEY CUP CONTENDER
‘Pittsburgh model’ of drafting might not seem like such a bad idea after all
The Pittsburgh Penguins breezed through town Thursday, which meant another opportunity to discuss the ‘Pittsburgh model.’
Right, Brian Burke? Burke was general manager of the Toronto Maple Leafs in 2012 when someone asked if he planned to follow the ‘Pittsburgh model’ of rebuilding through the draft.
“They won a goddam lottery and they got the best player in the game,” Burke shot back, in reference to the lottery pick of Sidney Crosby in 2005. “Is that available to me? Should we do that? Should we ask the league to have a lottery this year and maybe we pick first? The Pittsburgh model? My ass.”
Now that the draft lottery format is an annual event, rejigged to be more balanced and inclusive, Burke’s former Maple Leafs team is in the running, along with the Ottawa Senators. That ‘Pittsburgh model’ doesn’t seem like such a bad idea after all.
It appears the Leafs are finally prepared to start over, by building through the draft, and the Senators figure to get some choice picks as well.
The last-place Buffalo Sabres, especially after parting with several assets this week, would seem a lock to get one of the prized forwards, Connor McDavid or Jack Eichel, but several teams will have a shot at an elite player.
History shows that while trades and free agency can put a team over the top in a championship chase, core players tend to come from draft selections. Consider the past six Stanley Cup champs and the draft origins of their key performers: Los Angeles Kings: Winners of the Stanley Cup in 2014 and 2012, the Kings’ twin wins are usually framed in a discussion of the trades that brought them Jeff Carter and Mike Richards. Sometimes forgotten is the fact that the essence of this Kings team stems from draft picks — defenceman Drew Doughty, second overall in 2008; Anze Kopitar, 11th, 2005, captain Dustin Brown, 13th, 2003. Goaltender Jonathan Quick and former Ottawa 67’s forward Tyler Toffoli were also draft selections. That Richards trade was an important, but brief bump, in 2011. Today he’s a well-compensated player in the minors. Chicago Blackhawks: Winners of the Stanley Cup in 2013 and 2010, Chicago is hoping to win one last Cup while the gang is all here. Not that forwards Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane are going anywhere, but salary cap pressures are going to force the Blackhawks to part with important support players, much as they had to after 2010. The Blackhawks bottomed out in 2003-04, with 20 victories and 59 points. In 2006, they drafted their future captain, Toews, third overall. The next summer, they landed Kane, first overall. Other key draft picks — Duncan Keith, Brent Seabrook and Corey Crawford. Boston Bruins: Captain Zdeno Chara, the Senators great loss, went to Boston as a free agent in 2006. Meanwhile, the Bruins 2011 Cup-winning, White House-avoiding goaltender, Tim Thomas, practically fell from the sky, with his CV showing stops in the ECHL, AHL, IHL, Sweden and Finland.
Yet, past those two luminaries the Bruins used the draft to pluck forwards Patrice Bergeron (2003), David Krejci (2004), Tyler Seguin (since traded) and Brad Marchand. Goalie Tuukka Rask was once considered an important draft pick — of the Maple Leafs. Pittsburgh Penguins: Yes, they won the lockout “lottery” for Crosby in 2005. But they also drafted gifted forward Evgeni Malkin, second overall in 2004 and goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury, first overall in 2003. Kris Letang, Jordan Staal, and Brooks Orpik were other important selections that helped the Penguins win the 2009 Cup.
Time flies in this era of parity. The Kings and Blackhawks are considered by some to be “mini-dynasties” for winning two Cups in a relatively short span. This is how desperate we are to find a team or a player we can count on to be brilliant.
Even Crosby, as hard as he works, as earnest as he is in his role as the face of the franchise, if not the game itself, is in such a battle to contend with the younger guns of the game he found himself fifth in NHL scoring with fewer than games to play.
Though they have played more games than Crosby, Patrick Kane, Jakub Voracek and Tyler Seguin lead the way in the points parade, with Crosby a hot streak away from catching them.
Those two draft gems, Crosby and Malkin, turn 28 and 29 this summer, six years since their lone Cup victory.
Will there be another or are they one and done? General manager Ray Shero lost his job for the sin of winning just one championship riding these horses. They’ll be in the running this spring, although they’ll have their hands full getting out of the east against several teams gunning for the honour.
There may not be a ‘Pittsburgh model.’ But the league’s top teams all provide instructive lessons for a rebuilding franchise like the Senators. As long as they’re able to make the right picks, get some luck, and spend some money.