I'm not saying that plan is the be all and end all of how to win a championship, but it's certain to put you on the right track. I don't post here often but I have been lurking since 2003, and I have read this exact plan spread out over a conglomeration of posts over the years by various users. Not many teams have bought a Stanley cup in recent years. The most notable I could think of off the top of my head would be Anaheim and even they had a glut of their own drafted player's on board, and the only reason I put them there is because they wouldn't have won that cup without Niedermayer AND Pronger. One just wasn't enough. I especially liked the point of drafting player's to fit into a system, and only signing FA's that fit that system. Not tailoring your system around one or two signings. So many little details he pitched in that plan could eventually add up to a championship team, or at the very least a very competitive team to put over the top. Things like patience with the young guns, and only bringing in FA vets to compliment what you have already in the system. Point number seven is likely the one that sticks out as the most prevalent to me, character builds winners, winners bring championships, the true challenge is trying to find the player's that have both skill and character. I also really liked the point of developing a system and sticking to it. Detroit has done it and look at how they control the game, the puck is theirs, just try and take it.
Again not a 100% recipe for success, but certainly one, that if taken to heart, can get a team "almost" there. That is when trades like the Kessel one should happen. Build around a system, not a player. I should add though for the record, I don't dislike Kessel, I just think it was 3 to 4 years too early. That type of deal should be made to put you over the top, not to try and build from the bottom up. My question is though, are Leafs patient enough now to let a plan like this play out given how long we've been starving for some measure of success? I vote for "yea"
