V5 ANA and BOG
Joined: Jan. 2017
Posts: 1,886
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2013: The Lightning are awful and wind up with a top 3 pick... in Stamkos's 5th season
2017: The Lightning are eliminated from playoff contention on the last day of the season
2019: The Lightning are swept by the Blue Jackets in the first round
2020: The Lightning are champions
The key here is that they were patient. They didn't overreact to setbacks along the way. It would have been easy in 2017 or 2019 to point fingers, fire the coach, shop Kucherov or Stamkos... but they resisted the urge. Because they knew they had something good. And at long last they are rewarded for it. Same goes for the caps in 2018.
Same goes for the Leafs. They have something good in Matthews, Tavares, and Marner and Nylander too. Keep them. Be patient. Continue building. A knee-jerk reaction to the series against Columbus won't do it. If you have a good core, build around it. You don't have to ruin it to win.