How would you build your team? What would you look for in players that could fit the mold to your team?

1st move is get cheerleaders and scantly-clad ice girls.

Yeah..no doubt thats a solid base for a winning team^^...

Heart.

What players would fit?

Kovalev definitely doesn't fit..

I would like to build the toughest, meanest team ever just because I enjoy the big hits and fights and whatever. I am not so sure that would translate to success in the new nhl so i would try and find the balance of rock em sock em hockey and elite offense. The only way to achieve this is by surrounding yourself with a good staff.
My first moves would be to hire the best available coach with good communication skills as well as pump as much resources as possible into scouting and developing without putting my team in a rough financial position.
I think I would offer Gary Roberts a few bucks to head up training and conditioning and see if I could snag Jacques Caron to look after my goalies

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Phaneufed ( 13 ®)
http://icehole13.blogspot.com/

OK, firstly, I surround myself with scouts that I would trust with my life and I never second-guess or question them. I only have a small amount of scouts, no more than 6-8 full-time because I want it to be a tight-knit group who know eachother well and can discuss and debate with ease.

I hire a coach who knows how to teach systems and can employ a specific style of system suited to the players I give him.

I sign a couple of veteran goalies while I develop my young goalies. I want to acquire a lot of picks in the draft, especially late ones. I try to have 8 or 9 picks in every draft, even if it means trading down a couple times. I pick at least one, if not 2 goaltenders in every draft, along with trying to sign goalies out of college and Europe. I always want to have a plentitude of good goalies in the system to replace my old goalies, because I'm not willing to give a goalie more than 4 million a year or more than a 3 year term (goalies are too unreliable and unpredictable, a star today could be out of the NHL tomorrow). So because I'm going to regularly be forced to trade my top goalie or lose him to free-agency, I always want to have good, young guys coming in, as well as a very good goalie coach. And I always want to have a solid, reliable, cheap veteran to backup and mentor my young goalie.

I acquire a top two-way defenseman to build my team around. Whether it is through trade or free-agency doesn't matter, this is the most important player to the team I'm building and I'm willing to spend 6.5+ million for him. This will be my franchise player and should always be my highest paid player. For the rest of my defense, I want good puck movers. Not guys that are going to rush the puck up the ice or score a lot of points, but smart players who can make a good breakout pass and play dependable defense. Guys like Tom Gilbert, Tim Gleason, Brett Clark, Derek Morris, Dennis Seidenberg, Francois Beauchemin. Two of these other defensemen should be my PK specialists and two others should be my powerplay specialists, but all should be capable of playing both. This sounds like a lot to ask but I'm willing to spend upwards of 25-30 million on my defense to get a bunch of these kind of guys. Defense comes first on my team.

For my forwards, I want speed, speed and more speed. All of my centers have to be reliable two-way guys with good speed, and I want 6 or 7 natural centers on my roster. You can never have too many guys to take face-offs. This way my forwards are interchangeable, I have guys who can play center or wing on any line. Guys like Derek Roy, Shawn Horcoff, Jarett Stoll, Mike Fisher, Patrice Bergeron, Patrick Sharp, RJ Umberger, Ryan Kesler, Antoine Vermette come to mind, but at least 2 or 3 of them have to have pretty good size - at least 6'2, 210 pounds. The rest of my centers can be small-ish as long as they are responsible in all three zones.

My centers are preferably play-makers and for wingers I want all speed and scoring. Defensive play isn't a priority for these guys, as that's what all the centers are for. I don't mind having most of my wingers being small, speedy guys, as long as there is at least 2 or 3 really big guys who can protect the skill guys and go to the front of the net. These big guys don't have to be the most talented, but hard-workers who aren't afraid to get dirty in the corners and the front of the net and post-whistle scrums.

At the draft, I could care less whether I'm picking Canadians, Americans, Swedes, Czechs, Germans or Egyptians - forwards, defensemen or goalies - big, small, short or tall - it is ALWAYS the best player available. The only exception is I stay away from Russians with a 10-foot pole and my players have to fit into my mold. Safe, smart, simple two-way defensemen, 2-way centers and goal-scoring wingers.

I'll try to build and post and example of this style of team later on.

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Oh, hey, so IB, I can be one of your scouts (and assistant GM who eventually takes over as full-time GM)?

IB, Can I be the massage therapist of your team?

IB, can I be a player playing for your team?

Kudos, IB. That's pretty well the exact sort of team I'd run, especially the defenders you listed.

If i were a GM...I'd want to be like Bryan Murray.


LOL

You'll have to start out as a part-time scout and work your way up. I'm making a push for Paul Fenton or Kevin Devine to be my assistant GM.

Absolutely.

Absolutely not. If you want a massage from Jasmine so badly you have pay like everyone else. Double in fact, Jasmine hates elephants.

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If you let me be assistant GM of your team you can be assistant GM of my team.

Conflict of interest?

Hey IB, Can I be head of the "Strategic Statistical Analysis Group" on your team?

Can I be head scout?

No way, you get waaaaay to excited over prospects.

OK, I'll do an essay like Innocent_Bystander did.

My scouts will have to be really good scouts. I want a top North American scout, a top European scout, preferably, Hakan Andersson (Detroit Red Wings Director of European Scouting). Every draft would be like Christmas for my team. Myself being a prospect buff that I am, my scouts wouldn't be the only one surveying prospects, I'd be doing this myself as well looking out for the best prospect available at any time. Very rarely would I trade any draft picks unless I was getting an absolute stud, someone I could build my team around and wasn't just going to be a rental player -- I digress, but I'll get in to that later. If Hakan Andersson (or a prototype of him) wasn't available, I'd like a guy like Jarmo Kekalainen of the St. Louis Blues, their current assistant general manager and director of amateur scouting. He drafted Lars Eller for the St. Louis Blues. Other draft picks of Jarmo Kekalainen have been David Backes, Alex Pietrangelo, Erik Johnson (probably the best one yet), T.J. Oshie, David Perron, Roman Polak and others.

My other upper management staff would consist of people that have been in the position before with other teams.

I'd build my team as a big, tough, team with heart, but also with skill and a VERY strong desire to win. I want skill up the middle. I want players that get the game and also have skill to be my center man. Of course, I'd prefer to have some big center man as well. Skilled center man is a must for the top line -- and then surrounding him with skilled, big, physical, rugged wingers, but I'd also like a physical player up the middle that can dominate the faceoff circle by winning faceoffs dirty. Someone like Ryan Kesler. My powerplay would have a power forward on each powerplay unit to stand in front of the net and make it a pain for goaltenders. Of course, this player would have to be big. My penalty kill would be filled with speedy centers that get the art of defense and playing a strong two way game. This is Ryan Kesler, Tomas Plekanec, Antoine Vermette, Mike Richards, etc... Also, one guy that would be an absolute must to have on any team that I run would be Ian Laperriere. He's not a guy you build around, that's known, but he's a guy you win with. He'd have his eyeball slammed right in the back of his head if it meant the opposition doesn't get a scoring chance.

My defense would be a mix of defensive defenseman, offensive defenseman and two way defenseman. Who would I build my defense around? I have only three options. Chris Pronger, Erik Johnson or Drew Doughty. One of those three defenseman would be the defenseman I build my defense core around and then put supporting pieces around these guys. A great supporting piece would be a guy like Joni Pitkanen. Doesn't come with a HUGE price tag, and is a really underrated defenseman. Like all the best general managers, I believe in winning from the defense out -- that means you build the defense first and then work on your other two positions up front and in between the pipes. Other supporting pieces to my defense would be guys like Paul Martin, Zbynek Michalek, Josh Gorges, Dan Hamhuis, Willie Mitchell, Alexander Edler, Brent Seabrook, etc... all defenseman that are solid, two way defenseman and that you can win with.

As for my goaltending, well, as the two teams in the Finals proved this year, you don't need a top goaltender to win a Cup, but, my personal preference is to build my defense first, and then get one top goaltender that can stand on his head when he needs to (when my team isn't on their game, which I hope doesn't happen often). Those are goaltenders, along with a strong defense core, that you can win the Stanley Cup with, which is the ultimate goal. My goaltender won't be a 'top back up' if there's such a thing, but I also would like a top goaltender prospect to come around once every two drafts and draft that goaltender in the top two rounds, even if this includes trading another decent prospect (forward or defense).

I am totally against the mentality of rentals coming to my team. Why give up main pieces that can help in the future up for a player that won't re-sign? Do rental players help? Sure. But the prospects/picks I'll be forced to give up for a rental can also help the team in the future, and I know I'll have them longer than for three months like I would with the rental player. So rental players are totally against what I stand for.

My coach would also be able to have to communicate with the players well. I don't want a Guy Carbonneau type coach where he can't communicate with the players well enough, my coach HAS to be able to talk with the players.

My ideal lineup to fit plan:

Zach Parise (3.125) - Steven Stamkos (.875) - Shane Doan (4.55)
Alexandre Burrows (2) - Ryan Kesler (5) - Todd Bertuzzi (1.938)
Andrew Ladd (1.65) - Antoine Vermette (3.75) - Wayne Simmonds (.822)
Dan Carcillo (.938) - Gregory Campbell (.800) - Ian Laperriere (1.167)

Chris Pronger (4.921) - Zbynek Michalek (1.5)
Paul Martin (4.5) - Alexander Edler (3.25)
Joni Pitkanen (4) - Josh Gorges (1.1)

Ryan Miller (6.25)
Alex Auld (1)

Salary Cap: 53.136

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Not really...