There has been some skepticism concerning Brian Burke's decision not to rebuild the Maple Leafs through the draft. He believes that it takes too long and doesn't want to spend the next 5 years out of the playoffs. Well this will be the 5th season out of the playoffs and I'm not interested in seeing their streak stretch to 10 years.
Let's set aside the Phil Kessel trade because you can never justify giving up that much for a player who's name isn't Crosby or Ovechkin. What Burke is saying is that building around players 21 to 23 rather than 18 to 20 will shorten the rebuild by a couple of years. I'm all for that.
The Leafs are now the youngest team in the league so the rebuild is well underway. If all their veterans had been traded for draft picks the Leaf lineup would look much different. It would be stocked with minor leaguers and fringe NHL players not youngsters. You would be waiting several years to see how the draft picks turn out. Just look around the league. Pittsburgh, Chicago and Washington rebuilt through the draft but they were out of the playoffs for years.
Phoenix finished no higher than 23rd overall in the past 5 season and their average finish was 25th. It looks like they will finally make the playoffs this season. Los Angeles has had a similar experience with their best season in the past 5 being a 21st finish overall and an average finish of 25th. They too look to finally grab a playoff spot this season. For Columbus, St. Louis, Florida and the Islanders, they are still waiting for a winning season to happen. For every Steve Stamkos, John Taveres and Drew Doughty there is Patrik Stefan, Alexander Svitov or Rico Fata. If you pick a dud, it just sets you back that much farther.
As you watch Dion, Schenn, Kessel, Bozak, Caputi, Stalberg, Hanson and Kulemin you can at least get a sense of where the Leafs are going.
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