We gotta cut this defense man

No guarantee that SJ wins the lottery this year (or next), so if that defense can lead the tank train for 2 more years, might as well go for 1st overall twice and end up with three top 5 selections at the least.

SEA and ANA are all likely to be rising teams in the next couple of years. VGK, VAN, and LA might all be powerhouses, same with the Oilers if they manage to keep McDavid and Draisaitl. Sucks that SJ already missed the playoffs for 4 years but another 4 or 5 is probably necessary.

2 more bad seasons then 2 more fringe NHL seasons before we push through I could see them maybe sneaking in in 26/27 but should be a good team and playoff team by 27/28

I know the value of the tank, this defense isnt going to move the needle but move puck lmao. I think the sharks are going to be able to compete a bit sooner 25/26 I think they could really push for a play off spot because we can invest in FA. Only building through the draft has about a 50% chance at a cup looking at the past cup winners

They can but they shouldn't be considering that their 1C and 2C are 29 and 34. The types of players that they should be trying to find during FA are those depth pieces that make a difference on a playoff-caliber team, and once they have a young 1C at the least (assuming they keep Hertl) that emerges they could start looking at adding more significant pieces after that. In the meantime, they should use their cap space to take chances on veterans and untendered RFAs that they can flip or potentially re-sign if they are young enough. Definitely shouldn't be hoping to build a team purely from the draft, but previous Cup Winners usually have like 3-5 significant players that they drafted.

only 1 team in the past 25 years won the cup without a top 3 pick.