Who would you choose to start your team

[yave1964]

  If you were starting an NHL team, who would you choose to start your team with if you could pick any ONE player?

 

  I would be torn between:

 

Sid the kid. Most explosive offensive force in the game today plus takes more faceoffs than any player alive.

 

Stamkos. Younger than Sid and the best true goal scorer in the game.

 

Lundqvist. If I wanted to start my team with a goalie I would have to go with the king.

 

Toews. The ultimate captain and two way player in the game today.

 

Someone else.

 

  Any of the four listed would be perfect, A very difficult choice.

 

  I personally think I would start with Lundqvist. To me, you cannot go wrong with any of the above but I always believe in starting with goaltending and working your way out. That is just me, I know some out there would even consider Quick or another goalie (Rick with Miller, lol) but to me it is good to be the King.

 

 So that is mine. Anyone else care to take a stab?

[OccamsRazor]

If you were starting an NHL team, who would you choose to start your team with if you could pick any ONE player?

 

  I would be torn between:

 

Sid the kid. Most explosive offensive force in the game today plus takes more faceoffs than any player alive.

 

Stamkos. Younger than Sid and the best true goal scorer in the game.

 

Lundqvist. If I wanted to start my team with a goalie I would have to go with the king.

 

Toews. The ultimate captain and two way player in the game today.

 

Someone else.

 

  Any of the four listed would be perfect, A very difficult choice.

 

  I personally think I would start with Lundqvist. To me, you cannot go wrong with any of the above but I always believe in starting with goaltending and working your way out. That is just me, I know some out there would even consider Quick or another goalie (Rick with Miller, lol) but to me it is good to be the King.

 

 So that is mine. Anyone else care to take a stab?

I have to go with Nate McKinnon. If not for his age Stamkos. Not that he is old or anything but McKinnon gets the edge because of his age.

[Lightning fan]

Okay. I want a young, young player - ideally 25 at the very most; the younger the better. I'm a fan of the "build from the net out" philosophy, but I just don't see a goalie who is head and shoulders above his peers. Rask is great but probably not worthy of being the guy to build around if you can choose any player from the league. Wingers, I would not build a team around a winger; it'd have to be an out-of-this-world winger, which currently is not in the league. That leaves a defenseman or a center. There are some elite young Dmen in the league these days: Hedman, OEL, Karlsson, Subban, Pietrangelo, Doughty; then you have the likes of Brodin, Lindholm, etc., who haven't proven themselves yet. As for centers I'd consider Crosby, Stamkos and MacKinnon. I know, one is not like the other, but I firmly believe MacK is going to be a monster, and is by far the youngest. I like Seguin, too, but I'm not 100% sold on his commitment to the game.

 

So for me, it'd come down to:

 

Crosby

Stamkos

MacKinnon

Hedman (homer pick, he's turning into a beast this season though)

Karlsson

Doughty

Pietrangelo

 

In all honesty, I like the three centers better.

 

Crosby is the best but is 26. Stamkos is 2 years younger. MacKinnon is still 18.

 

I'd likely go Stamkos>MacKinnon>Crosby -- yes, it is a big gamble. If MacKinnon turns out to be as good as I predict then it can be MacK>Stamkos>Crosby easily.

 

*I may be overrating MacK's potential*

Edited March 29, 2014 by Lightning fan

[flyercanuck]

I'll take my chances with Connor McDavid, unless i have to go NHLer...then I'll take MacKinnon. If I'm starting a team, I'm not going for it right now, but building for down the road. Nobody gives you the talent AND age benefits of those two.

[J0e Th0rnton]

  If you were starting an NHL team, who would you choose to start your team with if you could pick any ONE player?

 

  I would be torn between:

 

Sid the kid. Most explosive offensive force in the game today plus takes more faceoffs than any player alive.

 

Stamkos. Younger than Sid and the best true goal scorer in the game.

 

Lundqvist. If I wanted to start my team with a goalie I would have to go with the king.

 

Toews. The ultimate captain and two way player in the game today.

 

Someone else.

 

  Any of the four listed would be perfect, A very difficult choice.

 

  I personally think I would start with Lundqvist. To me, you cannot go wrong with any of the above but I always believe in starting with goaltending and working your way out. That is just me, I know some out there would even consider Quick or another goalie (Rick with Miller, lol) but to me it is good to be the King.

 

 So that is mine. Anyone else care to take a stab?

Sidney Crosby, assuming he can stay healthy. I fully believe he is well ahead of the others healthy. The kid just dominates and slants the ice in the opposite direction. He is very good all around. I let his early career fool me into thinking he was a playmaker first. the year he played with very little to pass to, he ended up scoring 51 goals. he also matured in his all around game.

 

Right now, and likely for the next few years if healthy, he is just ahead of everyone else.

 

I understand the philosophy of building from the net out, but I disagree with it these days. We have seen teams with very good, but not great goaltenders win cups if the rest of the team is playing well in front of him. Very good in net is good enough these days provided you have good coaching and a committed team.

[yave1964]

@OccamsRazor@Lightning fan

 

I almost listed MacKinnon in my list but to me as well as he has played in his first season the jury is still out. The fact that he would even be in the conversation speaks volumes of him. At this point, I cannot think of any way to justify taking him over a good dozen players. Now two, three years from now is still up for discussion.

[flyercanuck]

@yave1964

 

 To me it's a no brainer. If you're starting a team I want a guy who's going to go through the growing pains with his teammates, and be around for 12-15 years. IMO, your most important player should either be a goalie (of which there are none young enough and great enough to be my first choice) a defenceman (Pietrangelo and Doughty were considered) or a center. Crosby, Stamkos, even Giroux or Toews are all good picks, and more important IMO, than any winger. But I'd still go with my first two choices in McDavid Or MacKinnon.

 

 Now, if I'm picking a team to win now, I'll take Crosby or Weber.

[yave1964]

@flyercanuck

 

  To clarify, imagine that every player in the NHL is thrown into the pot to be drafted and you are starting a team for the long term from scratch, I think that is what I had visualized. Great reasoning behind your choices.

 

  I think I stick with Lundqvist. I know I am in the minority here and can see the argument for MacKinnon and even McDavid but to me goalie is the critical position. I have seen clubs stacked to the roof with talent die because of bad goaltending, the decade of regular season excellence from the Ottawa Senators being ripped apart by poor netminding in the post season comes to mind.

 

  In my opinion, it is easier to fill the need for scoring than it is to fill the net. That is why I would start in net.

[B21]

Jon Sim.

[flyercanuck]

@yave1964

 

 You make a good point.

 

 So how many cups have the Rangers won with Lundquist anyway?

[flyercanuck]

@B21

 

 Come on...you always take Gretzky and Sim out of these type of drafts.

[B21]

@B21

 

 Come on...you always take Gretzky and Sim out of these type of drafts.

 

Ian Moran? The best F/D combo player on the Pens until Engelland arrived.

[J0e Th0rnton]

@flyercanuck

 

  To clarify, imagine that every player in the NHL is thrown into the pot to be drafted and you are starting a team for the long term from scratch, I think that is what I had visualized. Great reasoning behind your choices.

 

  I think I stick with Lundqvist. I know I am in the minority here and can see the argument for MacKinnon and even McDavid but to me goalie is the critical position. I have seen clubs stacked to the roof with talent die because of bad goaltending, the decade of regular season excellence from the Ottawa Senators being ripped apart by poor netminding in the post season comes to mind.

 

  In my opinion, it is easier to fill the need for scoring than it is to fill the net. That is why I would start in net.

Bad goaltending yes can ruin you. But merely solid goaltending with the right pieces up front is adequate. Osgood IMO was very average. Guguiere, Crawford, etc, good, but not superstar good. Fleury, streaky as heck, etc

But they all won cups recently

[yave1964]

Bad goaltending yes can ruin you. But merely solid goaltending with the right pieces up front is adequate. Osgood IMO was very average. Guguiere, Crawford, etc, good, but not superstar good. Fleury, streaky as heck, etc

But they all won cups recently

  Osgood always seems to be brought up in these conversations. I believe he was better than average but agreed, no star.

 

  Boston won a cup without a true star forward, Krejci, Bergeron, Horton, all very, very good players but no star in the bunch. I love Kopitar but do not see him as one of the games best, yet the Kings won.

  Lundqvist has not won a cup as pointed out by@flyercanuck but neither have the Sedins, Thornton, Marleau, Stamkos, Ovie and God knows how many highly skilled forwards. I agree that very good goaltending can be good enough when your team is surrounded by gamebreakers, but elite netminding can win when surrounded by average talent as well.

[flyercanuck]

@yave1964

 

 I agree with you, just yankin' yer chain. Though Lundquist has yet to do it with some decent, and some average teams in NY city.

[blocker]

I would go with the best defenceman I could find.  Some horse that I could ride for close to thirty minutes a game. 

[J0e Th0rnton]

  Osgood always seems to be brought up in these conversations. I believe he was better than average but agreed, no star.

 

  Boston won a cup without a true star forward, Krejci, Bergeron, Horton, all very, very good players but no star in the bunch. I love Kopitar but do not see him as one of the games best, yet the Kings won.

  Lundqvist has not won a cup as pointed out by@flyercanuck but neither have the Sedins, Thornton, Marleau, Stamkos, Ovie and God knows how many highly skilled forwards. I agree that very good goaltending can be good enough when your team is surrounded by gamebreakers, but elite netminding can win when surrounded by average talent as well.

No superstar forward, sure. Bergeron is a terrific two way forward ala Toews and the other bruins forwards were pretty good two way players themselves. But they did have a Norris winning superstar defenseman and the best goalie in the league combined with that depth.

[yave1964]

No superstar forward, sure. Bergeron is a terrific two way forward ala Toews and the other bruins forwards were pretty good two way players themselves. But they did have a Norris winning superstar defenseman and the best goalie in the league combined with that depth.

Bergeron? Toews lite. Not in Toews class by a long shot but a great two way player.

[J0e Th0rnton]

Bergeron? Toews lite. Not in Toews class by a long shot but a great two way player.

Superior defensively(Small margin), inferior offensively(Larger margin). Yes, Toews lite, but not way out of his class IMO. Don't get me wrong, I would take Toews, but Bergeron is right up there among those types of players.

[yave1964]

Superior defensively(Small margin), inferior offensively(Larger margin). Yes, Toews lite, but not way out of his class IMO. Don't get me wrong, I would take Toews, but Bergeron is right up there among those types of players.

Bergeron is 90 percent the player that Toews is, IMHO. That said, that still leaves him as one hell of a player. not a star, but damn good.

[mojo1917]

OEL or 24 year old Shea Weber

I would absolutely consider Crosby pre brain injury

Toews definitely on the board

Connor McDavid would be on the list

Nate MacKinnon or Jamie Benn round out the war room list.

So depending on who is left when I pick I would want to build a great defense, see team Canada's success.

[MadisonSquareGuardian]

It's really hard to pick just 1 player, i guess it depends on what your team already looks like. Starting from scratch, i would first pick a scoring juggernaut like Corey Perry or Stamkos and then i would get a top-notch complimentary player like Ryan Getzlaf or Matt Duchene. My next focus would be an awesome 1st line defensive pair but i'm getting ahead of myself

[yave1964]

It's really hard to pick just 1 player, i guess it depends on what your team already looks like. Starting from scratch, i would first pick a scoring juggernaut like Corey Perry or Stamkos and then i would get a top-notch complimentary player like Ryan Getzlaf or Matt Duchene. My next focus would be an awesome 1st line defensive pair but i'm getting ahead of myself

Cant go wrong with Stamkos or Perry that is for sure. BTW Welcome to the forum!!

[MadisonSquareGuardian]

Cant go wrong with Stamkos or Perry that is for sure. BTW Welcome to the forum!!

Thanks buddy! Appreciate it, happy to be here. 

[Commander Clueless]

Assuming I'm building an expansion team, I'll know tough years are there for the first few years.

 

 

I'll pick Sean Avery. It can only go up from there.