Quote:
Originally Posted by jas
The problem with that argument is that 1996 is considered a so-so draft; the 2003 draft was amzing in terms of 1st round talent. And, the truth is, Jeff Brown failing as a #1 pick is part of the reason that Smith found his way out of town. And, I'm not someone who routinely gets his short-hairs in a bunch over the Jessiman pick. The truth is, where the Rangers were at that time, it was fool-hardy to take a chance on a project such as Jessiman. Yes, it is easy, in hindsight for me to say that, as I was not one of the loud group of posters - Edge, TB, Dedalus...just to name a few that come to mind - who hated that pick from the moment the selection was made. (Frankly, I had more problems with the Montoya pick in 2004. But, that deserves another long-winded explanation, which, I'm not up for right now.)
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They also picked at 22 in '96. And were two years removed from the Cup and were still a pretty consistent playoff team in 1996.