Tanking Hits New Low – Can We Get This Season Over With?

Just when you thought talk of NHL tanking could not get any worse, it did exactly that.

I had the pleasure of reading this piece from Josh Cooper on Puck Daddy earlier today.  It’s a reasonable journey through two of the current NHL doormats, the Arizona Coyotes and Carolina Hurricanes.  It’s also proof that the talk of tanking has taken on a life of its own.

There have been plenty a conversation on social media, this site and multiple others about the merits of winning the race to the bottom of the NHL standings.  Connor McDavid and Jack Eichel are enticing, potential world-class talents that can change the fortunes of the franchises that select them.

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I’m just not willing to accept that people, be they fans or writers, need to start rooting for any players to land in certain markets unless you are a fan of that franchise.  I’m certainly not going to do that here.  If you want to root for your team to start trading off assets now instead of waiting until closer to the deadline as is annual tradition, be my guest.  Though I don’t completely identify with the tanking thought process, if the allure of future talent is that strong then by all means be a fan the way you feel is right.

Where I differ from Cooper is the idea the Edmonton Oilers or Buffalo Sabres don’t deserve to have one of these players.  One excerpt from Cooper is here:

"In that case … for the love of god please Arizona and Carolina tank. Tank worse than you’ve ever tanked before in your history. Do all in your power to make sure Eichel and McDavid don’t end up with Edmonton and Buffalo, the two poster children for crappola franchises.We need one of you to save hockey in the desert. We need the other to be the heir apparent to Eric Staal and bring back the playoff hockey tailgates we knew and loved in Carolina’s runs to the Cup Final."

I am not going to dispute the notion that McDavid or Eichel would make hockey in Arizona more interesting, successful and profitable.  But if you don’t win the lottery then you have to build your team the old-fashioned way.  Drafts, trades and free agency.  The same way you do when there isn’t a player at the top of the draft like this one.  One player is not going to turn around the fortunes of a franchise no matter how good they are.  Wayne Gretzky had Mark Messier.  Mario Lemieux had Jaromir Jagr.  Patrick Kane has Jonathan Toews.  It takes more than one.  Carolina won their Stanley Cup in 2006 with Eric Staal and a deep team of high quality players including Andrew Ladd, Rod Brind’Amour, Erik Cole and Ray Whitney among others.

As for the shot at the franchises there is certainly part of that that’s valid.  The Sabres mucked through multiple ownership changes before achieving the stability they have now.  And new GM Tim Murray doesn’t exactly give off the ‘passive’ impression.  He will be fun to watch as the deadline approaches.  And the Oilers have managed to draft at the top multiple times over the last few years and still are not back to their glory days of the 1980’s because of questionable draft strategy, among other things.

By the way, where is the former Sabres GM that helped guide Buffalo into “crappola”?  Oh yeah, Darcy Regier is in Arizona.

But lets assume we can use the logic that followed those quotes, which was in direct contrast to the overall point of guiding two future stars into particular markets.  Cooper slips this in towards the end of his analysis:

"Lastly, Buffalo and Edmonton don’t deserve to have another hockey prodigy. Sabres fans had Gilbert Perreault and were treated to the French Connection. The Oilers dynasties of the 80s go without saying."

Ok.  Let’s embrace that.  Using that logic, I am immediately taking Sidney Crosby off of the Pittsburgh Penguins.  They had Mario Lemieux and were AWFUL for a few years before his drafting.  They don’t deserve him.  Put him in Arizona.

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Patrick Kane, you say?  I say pluck him from the Chicago Blackhawks.  Stan Makita played there.  So using the Gilbert Perreault theory, Kane should never be in Chicago.  Congratulations, Carolina!  You have a new All-Star.

And Edmonton?  Yeah those dynasties happened.  Multiple Hall of Famers on those rosters throughout the decade.  So let’s take Taylor Hall off that team.  You’re welcome, Devils fans.  He’s all yours!

Except you can’t.  This is not NHL ’15.  The process is simple:  if you are among the worst teams in the league the lottery dictates that you get the best chance at the best prospects.  And the worst team in the league will draft no lower than second overall.

So trade away your best players to ‘win’ the worst record in the league.  Is that tanking?  No.  It’s a strategy that has been used for several years.  Sitting your best players when healthy is tanking and, thankfully, we aren’t to that point yet.

But what concerns me is the path that tanking conversation is taking.  First the tone was about rooting for losses.   Now Cooper introduces the thought of openly rooting against franchises to save others, a tone the NHL would find concerning considering the objective position they should be taking with all franchises from a business standpoint.  What’s next?  Fans cheering injuries such as Mikkel Boedker and his ruptured spleen?

If we have franchises that are in that bad of shape that we need to consider steering prospects to various markets, then it’s time to consider contraction to improve the overall product.  Let’s ask the NHL how they feel about that while prospective ownership mines for season ticket holders in Las Vegas.  Contraction isn’t happening, expansion is.

Like it or not, Edmonton and Buffalo are the front-runners for the top overall pick.  And if the standings hold teams like Arizona and Carolina would be left to pick around the top five and will still earn high quality prospects.  And the rest of the team will be built with other draft picks, trades and signing available free agents.  The way it’s been done for years.

Let’s just enjoy the process, get through this season and all the various forms of tanking conversation, and start next year fresh.  Can we do that tomorrow?  Tanking is exhausting.