If he uses some of next year's picks to move up or stays and gets some promising 18 year olds to add to the cupboard they could theoretically all arrive in the NHL near the same time.
Michkovs ELC is maybe not as important to Danny as these guys ELCs added together will be.
Before this happens we will get to see Bonk and Barkey get their shot.
The 4 seasons starting in 26/27 could be even more exciting than this year welcoming Michkov. I'm guessing those are the years DB has circled.
by scratchydaitchy
8 Comments
I think they’re looking to open the window in two years and keep it open for a decade
Imo: starting in 2025-26… we’re a playoff staple.
I think that’s right on the mark. Hopefully a couple seasons of playoff experience 26/27 and 27/28, if Coots is even still around then, you can buy him out and use that money to bring in FA’s.
It’s far too soon to put any sort of timeline on it. There are so few key pieces where we actually know what we have, so theoretically we have needs all over the roster.
Hell, if anything there’s a case to be made that the overall rebuild took a step back last year. We entered 2023-24 with two blue chip prospects in the system. We finished the year with one. And the roster player who replaced one of those prospects (Drysdale) certainly demonstrated that he’s a long way away from showing that he’s a core piece for the future. He’ll have a lot to prove in the coming years.
Sometimes it feels like fans desperately want to make the rebuild match Michkov’s timeline, when in reality you can’t simply will your way to a well-constructed roster. You’ve got to put in the actual work to draft, develop, and acquire talent. And we’re still in the relatively early stages of that process.
I’m guessing this is the last year they’re going to adopt the “the playoffs don’t matter philosophy”, any year after that they’ll be trying to compete and contend to varying degrees year over year. The only true main piece I think they’re badly missing is a 1C, and I don’t think it makes sense to completely halt forward progress for the rest of the organization to hunt for one guy.
I think the window opens when it opens. Hard to predict how well and how quickly prospects will develop. We also have a hole at G with Carter Shart gone, and I’m not sure if either of Sandstrom or Fedotov will be the answer there. It’s basically impossible to win a cup without at least a solid G in net.
Danny seems to be focused on adding assets while keeping our high end talent. Gotta hope one of the picks from this year and the next 2 ends up being a stud.
It obviously depends on how the prospects and players develop. Its way too early.
The team under Briere may never even be good enough to properly compete for a cup like under Hextall and Fletcher.
We have no idea how far or close we are right now.
We have to see how guys like Drysdale, Michkov, Luchanko, Bonk, goalies etc develop.
It’s a reasonable question but hard to answer. All I’ll say is, having a few players on ELCs contributing and making a positive difference in their top 6 or top 4 is the absolute best way to ice a very competitive team under a hard cap. So, IMO they should always prioritize the draft and only when they’re legitimate bonafide cup contenders should they use 1st rounders in trades to add. This is my general rule and it can be broken when/if the right player becomes available.