We Are A Week Away From The NHL Draft Lottery. What Happens If The Blackhawks DONT Win?
We are a week away from ping pong balls determining the fate of the next 10 years for the Blackhawks. If you're going to win in the NHL playoffs you NEED genuine Hall of Fame type superstars leading your team. Every team that wins has them. Even if you really believe that Davidson and the rest of his hockey ops department has made all the right moves so far (I think they've largely done a good job) in order for this rebuild to have Stanley Cup potential you need to get a bonafide star and in my view this draft has two of them. Most drafts have none. The Blackhawks executed being shitty to give themselves a shot a stars, but Buddy Fucking Robinson beating Pittsburgh in Game 81 dropped the Blackhawks' odds of getting Bedard or Fantilli to just 22.7% if my reading of this chart is correct
And because of that I have this impending sense of doom.
We see these teams come through the NHL regular season every single year. They are deep. They can skate. They have talent. And every year they quickly exit the playoffs. The Minnesota Wild, the Winnipeg Jets, the LA Kings, the New York Islanders, and even probably Carolina fit this bill. They get the most out of their ability, but when they need a guy to do something incredibly special in an odd chance to put them through to the next round they simply don't have it. It's nearly impossible to find players who are elite enough to be the best player on the very best team. I think Bedard and Fantilli have the potential to be that type of player. I think Carlsson, Michkov, and Will Smith are probably in a tier with guys like Mark Schieffle, Mat Barzal, and Kaprizov. AWESOME players, but they're not Kane, MacKinnon, Crosby, etc.
Now, two years ago I would've gladly taken a team as good as Minnesota even if the results ended up being the same. Squeeze the last bit of playoff magic out of the Toews and Kane era and then start the rebuild. That is why I was on board with the Seth Jones trade. I still believe that with a real coach instead of Colliton and without the black cloud of the scandal that killed the 2021-22 season before it started, a team with Kane, Fleury, Jones, Toews, Debrincat, Strome, Dach, Hagel, McCabe, Lafferty, etc would've been right there for a wild card. Obviously it didn't play out that way and we are where we are. Seeing all of those names leave and dealing with the pain, misery, and embarrassment that was the last two seasons just to end up as the Minnesota Wild because the balls didn't bounce your way is going to be a tough pill to swallow.
PS: After watching the u18s Will Smith is moving up my big board. I think I would have him 3rd at this point. The ideal situation for me if the Blackhawks do pick 3rd would be hoping Montreal is absolutely IN LOVE with Michkov or Carlsson and they're picking 5th and 17th. Trade #3 and #56 for #5 and #17. Not sure if they'd do it, but then the Blackhawks can end up with Will Smith and two first round picks in the teens. Will Smith, Gavin Brindley, and Gabe Perrault would be a nice little group to add to the forwards already in the pipeline.