Blue Jackets await NHL draft lottery draw
Results will dictate draft position; explaining odds
Drumroll, please.
Once again, the NHL'S draft lottery is about to take place, and, it could have a significant impact on the Blue Jackets' effort to “reset” their roster.
A year ago, the Jackets, stayed where they were initially slotted, fifth overall, and they selected playmaking forward Kent Johnson.
Around the same time, a pre-draft trade sent Seth Jones to the Chicago Blackhawks and gave Columbus the 12th overall pick in 2021 (Cole Sillinger) and an additional first-round pick.
Now the final offshoots of the deal will be determined by Tuesday's draw (6:30 p.m., ESPN, ESPN+).
“I try not to worry about things that are not in our control, so we'll watch the lottery closely ... and we'll see what happens,” Blue Jackets general manager Jarmo Kekalainen said. “We'll either have two first-round picks this year or two next year. Both are good options.”
Until the NHL conducts its lottery, each of those options is tied to odds assigned by how the Blue Jackets and Blackhawks finished in the league's overall standings.
The Jackets will get Chicago's first pick in 2022 as part of the Jones deal if it's not one of the top two selections. Otherwise,
Columbus will receive the Blackhawks' 2023 selection.
The Blackhawks finished 27th and have a 7.5% chance of winning the first draw, which would move them from sixth to first overall and turn the first-round pick they owe the Blue Jackets into an unprotected first-rounder in 2023.
For its part, Columbus finished 21st out of 32 teams. They have a 2.5% chance of winning the first lottery draw, which would move them up a maximum of 10 spots to second overall.
Should neither the Jackets nor Blackhawks win Tuesday, Columbus will make two first-round picks. In that scenario, Chicago's pick would slot no higher than sixth and no lower than eighth, while the Jackets' own pick would be no higher than 12th and no lower than 14th.
There is only one scenario in which the Blackhawks could win one of the two draws and still fork over this year's firstround pick to Columbus, and it's highly unlikely.
According to the NHL'S most recent lottery rules adopted by the league's board of governors, the Blue Jackets could wind up with the second and third overall picks if both Columbus and Chicago win the two draws — in that order.
Should the Jackets win the first draw, they'd move from 12th overall to second and give the league's 32nd team, the Montreal Canadiens, the first pick by reverse standings order. The second draw would then be held for the third overall pick, which the Blackhawks could potentially win for the Blue Jackets because it's not protected as part of the Jones deal.
It's about a likely to happen as the Jackets getting Chicago's unprotected first-round pick next year and winning the 2023 sweepstakes with it to select center Conor Bedard, who's widely considered to be the NHL'S next generational talent.
Either way, good scenarios abound for the retooling Blue Jackets.
“Obviously, people have (draft) projections and stuff, but that's a tough business, I can tell you, having done that for many, many years,” Kekalainen said. “You might think it's not a great draft, but all of a sudden, some guys develop totally different than what you thought and they make it a good draft years later.”
Johnson, Sillinger to play for Canada at World Championships
Kent Johnson and Cole Sillinger, whom the Jackets selected with the No. 5 and No. 12 overall picks in the 2021 NHL draft, were both named to Canada's roster for the IIHF Men's World Championships in Finland.
Sillinger played the full season with the Jackets, posting 31 points in 79 games. Johnson tallied three assists in nine games after signing with Columbus in April when his second season at the University of Michigan ended.
Canada will play the United States in a pre-tournament game on Wednesday before beginning group play against Germany on Friday in Helsinki. bhedger@dispatch.com @Brianhedger