The team was thrown together in an expansion draft, just like Vegas. They didn't get the exact players they wanted. They got what was available at the draft. They were also restricted to whoever was available in 2 free agency periods. This is NOT the result of a 5 year Steve Yzerman rebuild or retool.
But whenever people see success, they right away believe it was all 100% merit. Guess what. Thats not how it works