It has been a crazy year in the NHL. All you really need to know to understand that is the first-year expansion team leads its conference in points.
Yes, the Vegas Golden Knights have shocked the world with their impressive play, but a lot of other teams have shocked the NHL with their sub-par performances. If the NHL playoffs were to begin today, seven teams that made the postseason in 2017 would miss it this year. It’s not as if they were fringe teams either.
Currently, the Chicago Blackhawks, who led the Western Conference in points would miss the playoffs. The Defending Stanley Cup champion Pittsburgh Penguins would miss the playoffs. Throw in Division winners Anaheim and Montreal and other contenders like San Jose, Edmonton and Ottawa and it is truly a bizarre year.
Well, when you consider that every team that misses the playoffs has a shot at the number one overall pick, you might be able to have some fun with the NHL draft simulator.
As we saw last year, when you finish last, it’s actually more likely than not that you’ll end up with the fourth pick in the draft, not first. You still have the best odds to get 1st overall, but if you think of it like golf where you can pick one player or the field, the field usually wins. Now, imagine some of these scenarios (Run by fans on NHLlottreysimulator.com) played out and one of these teams ended up with Rasmus Dahlin.
People like to joke about the Edmonton Oilers and their 1st overall pick luck, but imagining McDavid and Dahlin together on a team should scare the rest of the league. This has to be some of the most cringe-worthy photos you can see for fans of the Sabres, Coyotes or Canucks – this was supposed to be your year to snag some franchise-level talent and it wouldn’t feel great to get scooped by one of these perennial contenders.
Here are the current odds to win the NHL entry draft (Via Tankathon.com):
Plus, Rasmus Dahlin is so, so good.
