Which teams are better positioned to be contenders

[RedWinged]

in the near future.. relative to talent, depth, young roster, prospects etc..

Obviously, we have Chicago, Anaheim in the West and Boston, Pittsburgh in the East. They should be contenders for the next 2-4 years.

How about other teams including Detroit?

Do you guys think, Ken and staff are preparing for a complete rebuild, perhaps a 4-5 year plan. Or, will he mortgage the future for one more run at the cup for Datsyuk and Co? I hope he picks one or the other, rather than, let the team slowly decline into oblivion..

Thoughts?

[Bench]

Originally Posted by RedWinged

in the near future.. relative to talent, depth, young roster, prospects etc..

Obviously, we have Chicago, Anaheim in the West and Boston, Pittsburgh in the East. They should be contenders for the next 2-4 years.

Easy on the Ducks love. This is the exact same team that didn't even make the playoffs last year. And 2 of their top 4 scorers are 38 and 42 years old. That's not exactly positioning themselves for a contender status for the next 2-4 years. And Beauchemin and Souray are logging the most minutes on the blueline. Fowler is a nice young offensive piece, but he's not a Doughty, Weber, or even Suter.

They aren't a bad franchise or anything, but their hot run here isn't indicative of a team I think will be an enduring playoff force for any amount of time. Particularly if the rumors are true Perry is bolting to free agency.

[detredWINgs]

Yeah I don't see the Anaheim dominance. In addition to their aging guys and potential losses to free agency, they're relying a ton on Fasth right now. And I highly, highly doubt he is going to consistently be this good, considering almost every NHL goalie rises and falls season to season, particularly once the rest of the league gets the book on him.