With that in mind, I am separating my offseason analysis series into three sections: The Draft, The Trade, and Free Agency, which will be last as it is still ongoing.
Part One: The Draft
Successful drafting and developing is the lifeblood of every North American professional sports league, and it is one of the hardest avenues to consistently produce results from.
In the NHL, a good draft produces two solid NHLers. In Behind The Moves, former Sabres GM Darcy Regier shared his data regarding the draft and player output:
The NHL Amateur Draft produces, on average, 54 players [who play at least 80 NHL games in their career] a year –1.