In hockey, as in life, patience is a virtue.

Looking back, the Whalers/Hurricanes probably wish they had been a bit more patient with Chris Pronger or Jean-Sebastien Giguere. The Penguins probably wish they hadn't been so quick to give up on Markus Naslund. And even the draft-savvy Senators probably wish they had waited just a little longer on Pavol Demitra.

	Calgary's Jarome Iginla was originally a draft pick of the Dallas Stars.

But hockey, like life, is full of those types of "what ifs?" With the NHL's annual entry draft scheduled for this weekend in Nashville, we figured it would be a good time to take a look at how things might be different for each team if they'd kept their draft picks, rather than dealt them.

Remember, though, in some cases, teams sacrificed the future for a present shot at the Stanley Cup. For example, the Stars wouldn't have won the Cup in 1999 without the help of center Joe Nieuwendyk, who earned the Conn Smythe Trophy during that playoff campaign. But, to get Nieuwendyk, they had to send a kid by the name of Jarome Iginla to the Flames.

In other cases, a particular club either couldn't or wouldn't pay a player, who forced a deal. Nieuwendyk couldn't come to terms with the Flames, who were forced to send him elsewhere. In that situation, the Flames were fortunate that Iginla developed into a dynamic player. Interestingly, the Flames originally preferred Stars center/right wing Todd Harvey, a first-round pick in 1993. But the Stars didn't want to part with the feisty Harvey. So the teams eventually settled on Iginla.

The Islanders, who have an amazing 36 original draft picks playing for other clubs around the league, have been forced to make several deals because of financial considerations. They sent Ziggy Palffy packing because they couldn't afford to pay him. They received prospect Olli Jokinen from the Kings in that deal but later sent him to Florida to blossom with the Panthers.

Finally, on other occasions, a management change has led to deals. Rangers GM Glen Sather, with no connection to any of the club's drafts before his arrival in 2000, has dealt many of the prospects selected by the previous regime led by former GM Neil Smith.

With appreciation for your patience in this matter, here's a look at how each club (top three forwards, two defensemen and starting goaltender) might look if it had kept its original draft choices. Note: If a team didn't draft a goalie or a second defenseman, it's noted with an NA in that spot:

Anaheim Mighty Ducks
Forwards: Paul Kariya, Mike Leclerc, Stanislav Chistov
Defensemen: Ruslan Salei, Niclas Havelid
Goaltender: NA

Atlanta Thrashers
Forwards: Dany Heatley, Ilya Kovalchuk, Patrik Stefan
Defensemen: Garnet Exelby, Libor Ustrnul
Goaltender: Pasi Nurminen

Boston Bruins
Forwards: Joe Thornton, Sergei Samsonov, Glen Murray
Defensemen: Glen Wesley, Kyle McLaren
Goaltender: John Grahame

Buffalo Sabres
Forwards: Alexander Mogilny, Pierre Turgeon, Dave Andreychuk
Defensemen: Keith Carney, Phillippe Boucher
Goaltender: Steve Shields

Calgary Flames
Forwards: Gary Roberts, Joe Nieuwendyk, Brett Hull
Defensemen: Al MacInnis, Derek Morris
Goaltender: Trevor Kidd

Carolina Hurricanes
Forwards: Ron Francis, Jeff O'Neill, Bobby Holik
Defensemen: Chris Pronger, Marek Malik
Goaltender: Jean-Sebastien Giguere

Chicago Blackhawks
Forwards: Jeremy Roenick, Eric Daze, Dean McAmmond
Defensemen: Karl Dykhuis, Steve McCarthy
Goaltender: Michael Leighton

Colorado Avalanche
Forwards: Joe Sakic, Mats Sundin, Milan Hejduk
Defensemen: Adam Foote, Robyn Regher
Goaltender: Manny Fernandez/Jocelyn Thibault

Columbus Blue Jackets
Forwards: Rick Nash, Lasse Pirjeta, Andrej Nedorost
Defensemen: Rostislav Klesla, Scott Heffernan
Goaltender: Pascal Leclair

Dallas Stars
Forwards: Mike Modano, Jere Lehtinen, Jarome Iginla
Defensemen: Derian Hatcher, Richard Matvichuk
Goaltender: Marty Turco

Detroit Red Wings
Forwards: Steve Yzerman, Sergei Fedorov, Keith Primeau
Defensemen: Nicklas Lidstrom, Jiri Fischer
Goaltender: Chris Osgood

Edmonton Oilers
Forwards: Ryan Smyth, Jason Arnott, Miroslav Satan
Defensemen: Tom Poti, Alexei Semenov
Goaltender: NA

Florida Panthers
Forwards: Rob Niedermayer, Radek Dvorak, Kristian Huselius
Defensemen: Ed Jovanovski, Jay Bouwmeester
Goaltender: Kevin Weekes

Los Angeles Kings
Forwards: Luc Robitaille, Robert Lang, Olli Jokinen
Defensemen: Rob Blake, Alexei Zhitnik
Goaltender: Jamie Storr

Minnesota Wild
Forwards: Marian Gaborik, Pierre Marc-Bouchard, Kyle Wanvig
Defensemen: Nick Schultz, Lubomir Sekeras
Goaltender: NA

Montreal Canadiens
Forwards: Saku Koivu, John Leclair, Craig Conroy
Defensemen: Chris Chelios, Mathieu Schneider
Goaltender: Tomas Vokoun

Nashville Predators
Forwards: David Legwand, Scott Hartnell, Denis Arkhipov
Defensemen: Karlis Skrastins, NA
Goaltender: Jan Lasek

New Jersey Devils
Forwards: Brendan Shanahan, Bill Guerin, Patrik Elias
Defensemen: Scott Niedermayer, Jason Smith
Goaltender: Martin Brodeur

New York Islanders
Forwards: Todd Bertuzzi, Zigmund Palffy, Travis Green
Defensemen: Eric Brewer, Wade Redden
Goaltender: Roberto Luongo

New York Rangers
Forwards: Doug Weight, Tony Amonte, Alexei Kovalev
Defensemen: Brian Leetch, Sergei Zubov
Goaltender: Mike Richter/Dan Cloutier

Ottawa Senators
Forwards: Marian Hossa, Daniel Alfredsson, Pavol Demitra
Defensemen: Chris Phillips, Karel Rachunek
Goaltender: Jani Hurme

Philadelphia Flyers
Forwards: Peter Forsberg, Simon Gagne, Vinny Prospal
Defensemen: Janne Niinimaa, Chris Therien
Goaltender: Roman Cechmanek

Phoenix Coyotes
Forwards: Teemu Selanne, Keith Tkachuk, Alexei Zhamnov
Defensemen: Teppo Numminen, Bryan Marchment
Goaltender: Nikolai Khabibulin

Pittsburgh Penguins
Forwards: Jaromir Jagr, Markus Naslund, Mario Lemieux
Defensemen: Ian Moran, Chris Tamer
Goaltender: Patrick Lalime

St. Louis Blues
Forwards: Rod Brind'Amour, Michal Handzus, Ladislav Nagy
Defensemen: Barret Jackman, Bret Hedican
Goaltender: Reinhard Divis

San Jose Sharks
Forwards: Patrick Marleau, Ray Whitney, Jeff Friesen
Defensemen: Mike Rathje, Sandis Ozolinsh
Goaltender: Evgeni Nabokov

Tampa Bay Lightning
Forwards: Vinny Lecavalier, Brad Richards, Daymond Langkow
Defensemen: Roman Hamrlik, Pavel Kubina
Goaltender: Zac Bierk

Toronto Maple Leafs
Forwards: Vincent Damphousse, Yanic Perreault, Sergei Berezin
Defensemen: Kenny Jonsson, Tomas Kaberle
Goaltender: Felix Potvin

Vancouver Canucks
Forwards: Pavel Bure, Michael Peca, Petr Nedved
Defensemen: Adrian Aucoin, Mattias Ohlund
Goaltender: NA

Washington Capitals
Forwards: Jason Allison, Peter Bondra, Richard Zednik
Defensemen: Scott Stevens, Sergei Gonchar
Goaltender: Olaf Kolzig

E.J. Hradek covers hockey for ESPN The Magazine. E-mail him at ej.hradek@espnmag.com.