Ultimately, as a GM, you’re constantly trying to solve this puzzle: How can I build a team that can win a Stanley Cup? Not make the playoffs. Not compete. Win the thing. If not this year, then in five years? It’s a long game, not a short one.
In order to solve the puzzle, you have to be paying attention to the landscape of the league as a whole. This is very important. Both of my Stanley Cup teams came together after some pretty big shifts in the way the game was being played. With the 2006 Hurricanes, we knew that the game was going to be officiated differently after the lockout. The league was cracking down on the clutch-and-grab style that defined the ’90s, so we went after players who would excel in the new environment.
The league always moves in cycles. And there’s not just one way to win. When I came to Pittsburgh in 2014, the trends had been flip-flopping back and forth. L.A. won with size and physicality. Chicago won with skill and discipline. (Personally, the Blackhawks are my favorite team to watch and learn from.) Then the Kings won again … size again. Then Chicago won again … skill again. Once a team wins with a certain philosophy, the rest of the league moves to either copy or counter it.
The answer isn’t to follow along with the trends. The answer is to figure out the best identity for yourteam.