Of the 32 NHL teams, several front offices stand out amongst the rest. These organizations consistently make moves to put their teams in positions to contend for a Stanley Cup. Their general managers are bold, gambling and winning through free agency, trades and the NHL Draft.
It should be no surprise that these teams are the cream of the crop in the current NHL. Some of these teams also have a leg up in attracting free agents due to state income tax laws, weather or the fun of the city.
But success, whether through skill or luck, and being born on third base, are part of life, and thus part of hockey. It’s impossible to exclude these factors. In this sense, sports have never been fair. But this list will be as fair as it gets.
The Hurricanes made a number of moves in the past 15 years that set them up for long-term success. They drafted Jaccob Slavin, a defensive cornerstone, in the fourth round of the 2012 NHL Draft. They drafted a steal in Sebastian Aho in the second round of the 2015 NHL Draft. Then they selected Andrei Svechnikov and Seth Jarvis in 2018 and 2020, respectively.
Arguably, their best decision was signing Rod Brind’Amour as their coach in 2018. They haven’t missed the playoffs since and have one Stanley Cup from this year to show for it. Brind’Amour has them use an aggressive forecheck and pepper the opposing goalie with shots, a playstyle that has proven effective 90% of the time.
It should be no surprise that these teams are the cream of the crop in the current NHL. Some of these teams also have a leg up in attracting free agents due to state income tax laws, weather or the fun of the city.
But success, whether through skill or luck, and being born on third base, are part of life, and thus part of hockey. It’s impossible to exclude these factors. In this sense, sports have never been fair. But this list will be as fair as it gets.
The Hurricanes made a number of moves in the past 15 years that set them up for long-term success. They drafted Jaccob Slavin, a defensive cornerstone, in the fourth round of the 2012 NHL Draft. They drafted a steal in Sebastian Aho in the second round of the 2015 NHL Draft. Then they selected Andrei Svechnikov and Seth Jarvis in 2018 and 2020, respectively.
Arguably, their best decision was signing Rod Brind’Amour as their coach in 2018. They haven’t missed the playoffs since and have one Stanley Cup from this year to show for it. Brind’Amour has them use an aggressive forecheck and pepper the opposing goalie with shots, a playstyle that has proven effective 90% of the time.
21 days ago
