The biggest draft lottery in almost a decade has arrived. Tonight is the night to find out who will score Conor his Bedard with the first pick. This is a top draft, meaning the early order is even more important than in a normal year.and in so many teams put in a tank The bouncing of these ping-pong balls would be a moment of success or failure for several franchises.
you can find real odds here, but I want to dig a little deeper. It’s time for the annual Draft Lottery Power Rankings. This ranking determines which outcomes lead to chaos, intrigue, and comedy.First edition of these rankings came in 2015, when another Conor was the grand prize. Let’s just say one was very funny until it wasn’t. What will happen this year? We’ll find out in a few hours, but for now let’s go to the rankings.
“Maximum Chaos” Ranking
If there’s one team that every true fan roots for, it’s (check notes) People who play Leafs. But if there are two, the other is Team Chaos.
Not Ranked: Columbus Blue Jackets — After years of hype, is Bedard going to a team that almost nobody hates?
5. Ottawa Senator — Coyote owns a pick from the Jacob Chiklung deal. It would be fun if for a second you thought Arizona pulled off a heist before Ottawa moved up to his No. 2 spot and remembered the picks were top-five and protected.
4. Detroit Red Wings — Will Detroit win the draft lottery? Their fans will be very confused.
3. Montreal Canadiens ――The reaction from the fans at last year’s draft was amazing. Indeed, it was in Montreal. Will the entire fanbase show up in Nashville? For Conor Bedard, it might.
2. Number 1001 — Aaron Portzline delves into the complex process behind the lottery. This doesn’t work the way most fans think it does. There are no ping-pong balls with team logos, and he has 14 numbers with a total of 1,001 possible combinations, of which he is assigned 1,000 to his team. What if he wins one of those unused numbers? they just do it again. But it’s fun to imagine a room full of team reps frantically searching for lists and discovering that no one has them.
1. Pittsburgh Penguins — they couldn’t quite move to number 1, but they were able to get within range of one of the elite players. Considering they had Mario Lemieux, Jaromir Yagger and Sidney Crosby for 40 years, 3% odds come true, not to mention people would be absolutely insane if this happened There is no
read more: With Conor Bedard up for grabs, what’s at stake in the 2023 NHL Draft Lottery?
“Who Really Deserves It?” Ranking
As usual, the word “deserved” feels like the wrong word when a team is about to lose. Our writers challenged this over the weekend, and my answer is the correct one.
Unranked: Chicago Blackhawks — They openly tanked as shamelessly as any team we’ve ever seen, but still didn’t finish in the end. Love to be around but failed tanking?
5. San Jose Sharks —Joe Thornton’s 15 years feel a bit counted, but they’ve never been the first pick. and Andrei Zyuzin, so if you’re lucky, you can expect it.
4. St. Louis Blues — They’ve been around for 56 years and only had one first pick — and used that to put Eric Johnson ahead of Jonathan Towes, Niklas Backstrom and Phil Kessel. rice field. Others haven’t been in the top three since the late 70’s.
3. Anaheim Ducks —Many fans argue that the draft’s sole purpose was to help the worst team, and the Ducks were the worst team. Maybe, but at least they’ve been a little more nuanced about it than some of the teams we can mention.
2. Columbus Blue Jacket — They weren’t tanking. In fact, they thought they would do well this year. They weren’t, and they desperately need good news. The fanbase has been loyal despite not having much to cheer for. Only once had the first pick – and it was a staggering draft back in 2002 that turned out to have only one Hall of Famer.
1. Detroit Red Wings — They’ve been sick for years and are exactly the team that needs to be built around franchise players. But at least until the end, they never tanked this year. And they’ve never won the lottery, haven’t been number one since 1986, haven’t been in the top three since 1990.
“Who Needs It Most” Ranking
Everyone wants the first pick, but some teams need it more than others.
Unranked: Arizona Coyote — Bedard doesn’t get much ice time when he plays as second-line center for Ouston Matthews. (But seriously, I can’t think of a team that doesn’t desperately need a win tonight.)
5. Chicago Blackhawks — OK, perhaps the word “necessary” might feel like a strong word for a large market team that has already won the last three cups. But Kyle Davidson has done everything this year except lace up his skates and shoot his puck into his own net.
4. St. Louis Blues — Their prospect pipeline is among the weakest of any lottery team, but they did an impressive job of loading up on picks on time. If a rebuild comes, it can come a long way. Or you could win the lottery and fast forward it years.
3. San Jose Sharks — Most of what I just said about the Blues also applies to the Sharks, with the added burden of being tied to many bad contracts for years to come. Nothing comes close to star on the roster or on the way.
2. Columbus Blue Jacket — A year ago, we might have argued that winning the lottery was the only way small-market Blue Jackets could become superstars, but Johnny Gaudreau seemed to have missed that note. is. Still, this is a team that has basically never had sustained success, and they’ve come a long way from what they’d hoped for. Bedard is going to change everything.
1. Philadelphia Flyers — they’ve denied for the past few years that they need to start over. Fans may prefer the show to the talk, and a Berard or Adam Fantilli landing would be the sort of system shock to the future that even the Comcast suit couldn’t ignore…maybe.
“Which Teams Could Trade Down?” Rankings
Every year, I like to get creative and come up with scenarios where my team could trade down from the top spot.
Unranked: Everyone. Sorry, this is one of my favorite sections of the year, but there’s a difference between being creative and being stupid. A generation ago, this would have worked, but today? No working GM would dare to trade Conor Bedard’s pick.
“What’s Best for Conor Bedard?” Ranking
Last year, I thought this section was about Shane Wright, so I put Seattle at number one and wrote, “Kraken will give you plenty of playtime.” Never listen to what I say about anything.
Unranked: Philadelphia Flyers — “Boooooo! You suck a kid! Boooooo!” But enough about what John Tortorella says.
5. Anaheim Ducks — they consistently rank high in this section, have some fun pieces already in place, and have a low-pressure market that still remembers the taste of the Stanley Cup. I don’t know.
4. Detroit Red Wings — The pieces are coming together. The hockey market is great. Steve Yzerman might be able to tell him something about being a superstar in this league he’s a center, which is exactly what the Wings wrote last year, but nothing has changed. yeah. Well, maybe about the part where the pieces come together.
3. Montreal Canadiens — The hockey market is hot and already has some good young productions. Additionally, he can study under Martin St. Louis. Fans may be tough, but they absolutely love French players. (Yes, Connor, you’re French now. It’s pronounced “baidart.” Leave it at that.)
2. Chicago Blackhawks — there will be big shoes to fill the post-Kane and Touse era. If Bedard’s goal is to be a big star on and off the ice, this is probably the best landing spot.
1. Vancouver Canucks — I’m hesitant here because the franchise feels like a mess these days from top to bottom.But the roster is better than most teams on this list.Thanks to Elias Pettersson, he He doesn’t have to be the number one center right away.He grew up with his hometown team. apparently still doing).
“Unintentional comedy” ranking
Not Ranked: Pittsburgh Penguins — no one is laughing, intentionally or not.
5. Arizona Coyote — Conspiracy theories and mallet jokes aside, the Coyotes are the only one of Taylor Hall’s five teams to qualify for a top pick.If that happens, transitive properties will allow us to keep making Taylor Hall lottery jokes. he could.
4. Vancouver Canucks — because we know they’ll soon take the victory lap, just to be part of a grand plan that the rest of us were too stupid to understand.
3. Montreal Canadiens — They won the lottery for the second time, moved to the second pick, drafted Fantilli, he went back to college for a sophomore year, Habs didn’t get help quickly, and was in bad shape again next year. and win the 2024 Top Picks Only Lottery. Becoming the first victim of the “you can’t win more than once” rule.
2. Edmonton Oilers — For the record, I’m not saying league should do it Just to spoil us, announce they won the first pick again.
1. Nashville Predators/Calgary Flames — Some experts believe Slam Dunk franchise players may have as many as four long-shot longest wins just to move to five or six in a top-load draft Thing would be the most anti-climactic result ever.
“Let’s get a tinfoil hat” ranking
The league fully manipulates the draft lottery for generations of franchise players, right? (Ignore Connor McDavid in the back row, quietly raising his hand.) Of course they will.
Not Ranked: Columbus Blue Jackets — It will be very funny when they win and Bettmann has to pretend to be delighted with them.
5. Washington Capitals — Oh, look, chasing an all-time goalscoring record will be the biggest story in the hockey world in years, but the winger, who may be nearing the loss of his longtime playmaking center to injury, Received the stud replacement just in time. See him make it to the finish line, what a coincidence…
4. Montreal Canadiens — Oh, look, Canada’s largest market in the lottery has won the first pick for the second year in a row. Remember, once again, which big national TV deals are those that need to be renegotiated. What a coincidence…
3. Ottawa Senator — Oh, look, a team about to be sold in a deal that sets the bar for franchise value across the league gets Fantilli, a superstar who defies the odds and moves up 10 places and can tweak the price tag. match…
2. Chicago Blackhawks — See, the only team anyone’s ever heard of in the NHL’s marketing department got superstars just as two longtime franchise players are ready to move on.
1. Arizona Coyote — See, a team that has struggled to exist for 20 years, and which Gary Bettman continues to rise to every challenge, is finally building a super Got a star., all jokes aside, this gets pretty shady.
(Top photo: Larry MacDougal/Associated Press)
