While I agree that I’d like to see us take more high-upside scoring picks in the draft, I think Yzerman has essentially resigned that they could almost come from anywhere at this point but they want to make sure our high picks are solid to build NHL depth.

I feel as though these past two years of not hitting in the lottery has left us realizing that we probably are going to free agency for top talent, or possibly a trade longer term. It’s simply a lot more difficult than people think to just snag elite scoring in a draft. If the plan is to build a base around solid NHL centers and defense, and then acquire elite scoring wings, I’m okay with that. I’m guessing free agency next off-season will be huge for us, depending on how this year goes and how long term contracts shake out for seider and Raymond.