The NHL is structured a bit different to make a pound for pound comparison. Let's use the Coyotes. They suck, nobody gives a shit about them. What do they do? They don't handcuff themselves to high priced players, and work on developing and acquiring young talent through their system. Since they are in a market which gives zero fucks, they are able to do this without hesitance.
Toronto on the other hand, is in a market with crazy people. While they CAN do what I just mentioned, they are far more likely to sign sexy stupid sexy players using sweet sweet waffle money. They realize they are garbage into the season, and decide to make adjustments to fall to a specific draft selection or player.
The discussion in the other thread is largely over the usage of the word "tanking". I don't believe Coyote scenario is considered tanking, where scenario two is.
