Noting that Jim Nill has been the GM of Dallas for 12 years and they have not only won nothing, they have missed the playoffs in 4 of those years. I like Dallas – I think they are an excellent hockey team.
They also haven’t ever drafted 1st overall. Highest pick (and only in the top 10 in the past 12 years) was Miro Heiskanen.
They have gone further than the Leafs, more often than the Leafs. Missing the playoffs and 1st round exists aren’t all that different.
I see that as a work in progress that has Cup winning potential for at least the next 5 years. But, McDavid…
So, I can only imagine how badly destroyed the Leafs would be if McDavid was in the way every single year.
I also like the teams and style of Tampa, Carolina and Winnipeg – and just like the Leafs, none are playing.
Tampa Bay and Carolina do much better at the draft table than the Leafs. Winnipeg, not so much. But it usually shows up on the ice which is why Tampa Bay has won Cups and Carolina goes deep often.
Typically Nill has held onto his picks and he’s drafted well – although his second round picks have worked out better than a lot of his first round picks; you have Robertson, Hintz and I guess Stankoven (I’m not a huge fan of his, but he was used in the Rantanen acquisition, so hard to argue he had value) – but then you had higher picks like Honka, Gurianov, Tufte, Dellandrea and so on that really – for where they were picked – should have hit.
Maybe if he’d landed on those Dallas would’ve won a cup by now, instead of being curb stomped by Edmonton in 5.
I really don’t see any names on the draft years of Honka, Gurianov, Tufte and Dellandrea that would be able to overcome McDavid. Except maybe Pasta in Honka’s year. But even the Leafs would be better off with Pasta than Nylander.
If Nill had Matthews, Marner and Nylander as his base and then added his late 1st / 2nd round picks as depth, the Leafs would be much better off than in the world we currently live in where they throw 1st round picks out for 4th line rentals. I don’t see him making the Tavares mistake either. And he did draft Oettinger (in the 1st round) which is miles ahead of what the Leafs had in net before this past season. Leafs took Liljegren in 2017.
There’s also Wyatt Johnston, 23rd overall. Mavrik Bourque, 30th overall. Thomas Harley, 18th overall. All recent contributors while the Leafs have almost nothing to show for 10 years of 1st round picks.
And when Nill finally does trade a guy like Stankoven and 1st round picks, he lands a mega catch like Rantanen.
We could be looking at something like this instead of what we have…
J. Robertson | Matthews | Marner
Johnston | Hintz | Nylander
Harley | Heiskanen
Oettinger
I know who I’d rather have as our GM looking at that alternative…that’s for sure…