jonlleafs said:
So tell me. How long did Pittsburgh stink before finally getting into the playoffs in 2007/2008? It was SIX. Six years without a playoff appearance.
Several points in response to your laughably transparent comparison but any one would suffice:
1. It is much, much harder to make the playoffs with the league's lowest payroll and a bankrupt owner in an uncapped league than it is to do so paying near the cap limit in a capped league, as has been the case for the Burke-era Leafs.
2. The Penguins didn't have an unspectacular group of prospects. They had a spectacular one.
3. The Penguins finally made the playoffs in 06/07, not 07/08
4. The Penguins GM who oversaw the team during their financial collapse
was replaced. Ray Shero missed the playoffs only once.