The Pittsburgh Penguins finished last in the Atlantic Division for four consecutive years between 2002 and 2006, winning 28 or fewer of their 82 total games every time.
As a result, the Penguins received a top-five pick in all five drafts during the same time span. Their five selections, in order: Ryan Whitney (eventually traded for Chris Kunitz) in 2002, Marc-Andre Fleury in 2003, Evgeni Malkin in 2004, Sidney Crosby in 2005 and Jordan Staal in 2006.
In 2007, the Pens made their first playoff appearance in five seasons.
They haven't missed it since, accumulating one Stanley Cup ring, two Eastern Conference titles and three Conference Finals appearances along the way.
Such a perfect example of the parity-facilitating system used in North American professional sports—a system meant to help bottom-feeding teams move to the top, but inadvertently ignorant to the plight of merely below-average teams.
The Carolina Hurricanes have missed the playoffs for five consecutive years, a fact very well known by all who follow the team. It's a curse the 'Canes can't seem to shake, a cyclone of m ...
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Article written by Mark Jones
Carolina Hurricanes Should Consider Gutting Lineup, Starting to Rebuild
October 16th, 2014 by Mark Jones Leave a reply »
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