debate on whether or not the NHL draft is a way to build a championship

I just finished watching Game 7 of the Wings-Ducks series (I find Wings vs. Ducks to be funny for some reason). That was a hell of a game. Detroit's penalty killing was fantastic and I do see them winning it all from here, though Dan Cleary (from Newfoundland, we’re constantly reminded) had a quite controversial game winner. At the beginning of the playoffs I picked now-departed Washington and Detroit in the final. Arguments against Detroit goaltending I see as invalid as the same stiff backstopped them to the championship last year. Come to think of it, that same stiff backstopped them to the '98 championship (and was labelled a stiff then) and then you forgot about him until last year.

I also find it amazing how apart from one year (1989-90), Detroit has remained a very good, competitive team since the late 80s. They spent many years choking, but managed to get over the hump with Scotty Bowman. The stars come and go (Yzerman, Shanahan, Hasek, Konstantinov, Fedorov, Larionov...) but they don't need to tank to bring up more stars like Datsyuk and Zetterberg. I cannot think of an example like them in sports. If I were to pledge allegiance right now to a team it would be the Detroit Red Wings. You can count on them to be good. Unfortunately, I already pledge allegiance to the woeful Toronto Maple Leafs, a team that is trying to win by being bad for years.

I was reading an online debate between ESPN's Bill Simmons and famous Canadian historian and thinker Malcolm Gladwell. I did not know Gladwell was as knowledgeable about sports as he is. Gladwell proposed putting every NBA team into the lottery and giving them all an equal shot, or even giving picks out from best team first to worst team last, forcing them to try to be competitive rather than see them tank. He argued the draft helps no one as much as free agency as the same teams are always bad. He is almost right. Basketball is more of an individual's game, so landing LeBron in Cleveland's case, AI in Philadelphia's case, Shaq and Penny in Orlando's case way back when, can turn a sad sack team into a contender. Tim Duncan is another example, but that only occurred after San Antonio flopped in the year of superstar David Robinson being injured. Apart from that year, the Spurs have been great since the early 90s and Duncan helped them get over the hump and win titles.

In hockey, which is more of a team-based game, the draft rarely builds a champion. Tampa Bay, which five years later is once again a bottom-feeder, got Lecavalier and a championship, but none of their high draft picks really panned out. Brad Richards was a third rounder and Martin St. Louis was a diamond-in-the-rough undrafted player. The Kings have yet to get great with years of rewards for being awful. The Islanders still have yet to go anywhere with years of high draft picks. The Islanders were able to build a great team through the 70s into the 80s, but that was an era before free agency. Excluding a surprise run to the conference finals in 1993, they’ve won a total of seven playoff games since 1988. The Penguins have yet to win the cup this time around (which would make for a good example of using the draft to build a championship). I will accept the argument those championships in the 90s came from the draft with Jagr and Lemieux leading the way, but guys like Joe Mullen, Tom Barrasso, Kevin Stevens, Ron Francis, Paul Coffey and Larry Murphy were not drafted by the Penguins.

One false example of using the draft to build a winner is the Quebec Nordiques/Colorado Avalanche. The problem with this example is none of those top three picks were the keys to their two championships in Denver. Mats Sundin was traded to Toronto for Wendel Clark in a bad trade for Quebec, Todd Warriner went with him and was a bust anyway. Curtis Leschyshyn was a valuable role player on the first championship team, but don't tell me they don't win without him. Owen Nolan was gone before a championship was won. Eric Lindros never played a shift for the Nords, but was able to command enough players and prospects to instantly help the Nordiques/Avalanche. Contrary to popular belief, Sakic was a mid-first round draft pick. The big piece of the puzzle came in the blockbuster trade landing Pat Roy after the team left Quebec City.

Other examples of teams in recent memory building a great team (and a championship) through free agents, trades and grabbing solid prospects outside of the lottery include Anaheim, Dallas, and of course, the Red Wings. Anaheim is an example of a bad team getting better through the trades, etc. (Pronger, Niedermayer, Selanne, Penner) Good drafting of players like Ryan Getzlaf and Corey Perry helped the team, but Brian Burke didn't just sit around and wait for years to eventually get better. As a Leaf fan, I'm hoping for the same this time around.