Notes Kyle Davidson can take from this years WCF
With the Colorado Avalanche completing their sweep of the Edmonton Oilers in game 4 of the Western Conference Finals last night, their core looks ready to begin a string of dominance in the West for many years to come. But it wasn't too long ago that Colorado was rebuilding themselves so what notes can Blackhawks GM Kyle Davidson take from this years Western Conference Finals?
The first is the simple old cliché of speed kills. These were two of the fastest teams in the league headlined by two of the leagues fastest players in Connor McDavid and Nathan MacKinnon. Being able to turn periods into track meets of high octane speed resulting in alternating goals of the rush, like two tennis pros volleying serves, this series showed you have to speed all throughout the depth chart to compete. It's not just the forwards either as defenseman Cale Makar is also one of the best skaters in the league and his ability to join off the rush and generate quick transitions has made him a dominant force in the playoffs. If the Blackhawks look to make it back to the mountain top then Davidson has to build a team of speedsters as the league is only getting faster.
The second note is DO NOT RUSH THE REBUILD. Just because the league is getting faster does not mean that rebuilds are. After losing in the first round of 2010, the Colorado Avalanche only made the playoffs ONCE in the next 7 years. The only year they made the playoffs was in 2014 under Patrick Roy and they lost in round 1, despite that year serving as the Nathan MacKinnon has arrived party, GM Joe Sakic stood the course and did not leverage their future to get on top of the mountain sooner. During this stretch the Avs were able to build their core through the draft by selecting Captain Gabriel Landeskog in 2011, Nathan MacKinnon in 2013, Mikko Rantanen in 2015, and Cale Makar in 2017. Joining the front office in 2011, and becoming GM in 2013, Sakic was faced with a few tough situations during his rebuild including decisions on tough trades. This came in the likes of Ryan O'Reilly and Matt Duchene. O'Reilly was traded to Buffalo in 2015 for a group of picks and prospects including JT Compher, who has played a huge role in this years playoffs as depth scoring for the Avs. Then the Matt Duchene trade Sakic was able to bring an absolute haul in consisting of: offensive defenseman Samuel Girard, the pick that became 4th overall Bowen Byram (who has stepped up huge in Girard's absence this playoffs and looks to give the Avs two elite defenseman going forward with Makar locked up long term), and former starting goalie Phillipp Grubauer. While Kyle Davidson himself will be faced with tough moves over the year with the futures of Patrick Kane, Alex DeBrincat, and Jonathan Toews all in question, he can follow Sakic's path to getting his team back on top.
The Avs rebuilding stretch also lines up perfectly with the Blackhawks dominance over the Central Division and 3 cups in 6 years. While the Avs look primed and ready to dominant the Central for years to come, there is absolutely no reason for Davidson to rush the rebuild as he would just be sending underdeveloped kids into the buzz saw that is the Colorado Avalanche.
The third note is not as obvious as it seems. While everyone who isn't an Oilers fan is enjoying a laugh at Mike Smith's continued playoff blunders, the third note is not that a contender needs an elite goalie but rather an elite group of defenseman. While Darcy Kuemper is certainly a good goalie coming off a great regular season of 37 wins .921 Save % and 2.54 GAA, he has had an a pretty average playoff run before injury. Due to injury the Avs relied on backup Pavel Francouz, who is also by no means a bad goalie, but what separates the Avs from the Oilers is not goaltending, but a dominant group of defenseman. While an elite goalie certainly helps, just look at the two teams in the Eastern Conference finals to notice that, 3 of the final 4 teams in this years playoffs all have a stacked dcore. Headlined by former Norris Trophy winners in Victor Hedman and Adam Fox, and current Norris Trophy finalist in Cale Makar. But each of their teams also have defensive depth full of studs like Ryan McDonough, Mikhail Sergachev, Samuel Girard, and the big bodied heavy hitters of Jacob Trouba and Josh Manson. That doesn't even include the blossoming youngsters of Bowen Byram and K'Andre Miller who can both develop into top pair defenseman. The major take away for Davidson here is that during his rebuild he needs to build up a stacked group of defenseman and then find a reliable goalie when the team is ready to compete again.
Now that Davidson has his notes, fans should take note of one thing too. Rebuilds are a long process that is not exactly fun in the moment but the payoff and reward of building that next core of contenders and watching them win is 100% worth it.
| POLL | ||
What part of the team would you like to see Davidson Address first in the rebuild? | ||
| Forwards! | 24 | 15 % |
| Defenseman! | 36 | 22.5 % |
| All of it, does not matter what's first! | 64 | 40 % |
| Trust the process. | 36 | 22.5 % |
| List of polls | ||
