Lottery teams now crossing fingers
COLUMBUS, OHIO— Mention Connor McDavid around Columbus and you’ll see Blue Jackets GM Jarmo Kekalainen get a bit dreamy.
Because what if the Blue Jackets, a team far better than their record, win the Connor McDavid Sweepstakes?
“I can imagine that,” said Kekalainen. “I have imagined that. Our odds are not great, but there’s a chance.”
McDavid, of course, will be the cornerstone player for any franchise that is lucky enough to draft him. The Erie Otters centre from Newmarket, Ont., is No. 1 on all scouting lists, including the NHL’s seasonending list issued Wednesday from its Central Scouting department. The next Sidney Crosby, they say.
Two teams with a chance at winning the lottery — the Blue Jackets and Maple Leafs — met Wednesday night, with Columbus walloping Toronto 5-0. The Leafs have one game left, Saturday at home to playoffbound Montreal. Some of the lowlights: A Leaf starting goalie was pulled for the 11th time this season.
The Leafs were shut out for the ninth time.
The Leafs ended with a league-low eight road wins.
The Leafs were scored on first for the 51st time.
The mood around the Leafs is all doom and gloom, with no one quite sure who will be back next season.
“You get some of those thoughts with what’s going to happen with the team,” said Leafs goalie James Reimer, who made his final start and was pulled after Columbus’s fourth goal. “You never know what’s going to happen. There’s been a lot of talk, a lot of speculation. The team could be similar to what it is this year. You never know what will transpire.”
The draft is really all there is left to look forward to. It appears Sportsnet will host the lottery in its new Toronto studio. Nothing is confirmed, but the show will likely take place before Hockey Night in Canada on Saturday at 6:30 p.m., a half-hour before that night’s playoff game. There is talk McDavid will be at the draw, along with the five general managers most likely to win the pick.
The NHL has been running a lottery for the draft since1995. The odds have changed, and so have the rules. There was a time a team could only move up four places.
But in all that time, the team with the best odds of winning — the team that finished last in the standings — has won only six times. The team that finishes last, currently the Sabres, has a 20 per cent chance of winning the draw. But all that means is there’s an 80 per cent chance the winner won’t be the Sabres.
It might be nothing more than karma if one of the better teams — teams that tried to make a playoff push — win McDavid’s service.
“I don’t think any who’s going to miss the playoffs is not going to have their fingers crossed when the lottery time comes,” said Kekalainen. “I’m not feeling great not to make the playoffs. But what’s better if you don’t make the playoffs than winning the lottery?”
The Maple Leafs currently have a 9.5 per cent chance of winning the lottery for the right to choose first overall in the June draft. The Blue Jackets, with their win, dropped to a 6 per cent chance from a 6.5 per cent chance.
The biggest difference between the two teams since January was the compete level shown on the ice while the season was lost for both of them.
As the Leafs struggled through January, management pulled the chute on the season, trading players well before the trade deadline. Some veterans, meanwhile, seemed to have checked out about a month ago. The tank, as it is called, was on. The Blue Jackets, on the other hand, did the noble thing: They kept trying. And they kept winning. Wednesday’s win was their 11th in 12 games.