For the eight teams eliminated from the NHL Playoff Qualifying Round, there is some sort of consolation prize that will be awarded on Monday (6 p.m. ET; NHL Network, NBCSN): The 2020 Draft First Pick and Luck. to make Alexis Lafrenière their franchise attacker.
The first phase of the June 26 draft lottery revealed that one of the teams eliminated from qualifying would secure the top spot, a reality that had a 2.5% chance of happening. The other seven teams weren’t included in the extended NHL season pickup, one that featured 12 teams from each conference, instead of the usual eight from the playoffs. The top four teams from each conference fought for the rankings, while the rest played to advance to the first round.
And as is the case in the wild world of the NHL playoffs, upheaval abounds: the No. 12 Chicago Blackhawks beat the No. 5 Edmonton Oilers; the No. 12 Montreal Canadiens beat the No. 5 Pittsburgh Penguins; and the Arizona No.11 Coyotes sent the Nashville No.6 Predators home. Other teams currently in contention for the top pick include the No.11 New York Rangers, No.10 Minnesota Wilds, No.10 Florida Panthers, No.9 Winnipeg Jets and No.8 Toronto Maple Leafs.
NHL PREDICTIONS:Here’s how the Stanley Cup playoffs will go
But instead of ranking the teams based on those most deserving of the top pick, we decided to turn the tide and rank them based on what would be most unfair to the rest of the teams.
1. Pittsburgh Penguins: Pittsburgh finished with 86 points, a good fifth in the Eastern Conference. Adding Lafrenière to play alongside Sidney Crosby or Evgeni Malkin … that would be difficult to plan considering that there are also Jake Guentzel, Jason Zucker and Bryan Rust to worry about. It would also give the Pens a franchise player to build as Crosby and Malkin enter the final stages of their careers, a period that was meant to give other teams a shot in the East; the Penguins have qualified for the playoffs for 13 consecutive years, including winning three Stanley Cups.
2. Toronto Maple Leafs: Four years after landing Auston Matthews in No. 1 and two years after signing with John Taveras, it doesn’t seem fair that the Maple Leafs now add Lafrenière to this group of forwards, which also includes wingers Mitch Marner and William Nylander. Even though hockey-mad Toronto hasn’t lived up to expectations in recent years, it would now be in place for the next decade to torment the East.
3. Edmonton Oilers: Since the 2009 draft, the Oilers have chosen 10 times in the top 10, including four times in first place overall. There have been disaster picks (Nail Yakupov) and picks for the best hockey player today (Connor McDavid) and likely MVP this season (Leon Draisaitl). Edmonton could use more players on the scoreline as it struggled to build around those two.
4. New York Rangers: Even though the Rangers have gone without a playoff for the past three seasons, they’re a big-name franchise that typically spends up to the salary cap in a big city that loves all-star power. They went from No.6 in the draft to No.2 last season and took on winger Kaapo Kakko, 19, who was inconsistent but showed signs of being a dominant player. Their rebuilding was also quicker than expected thanks to the addition of Artemi Panarin, the continued emergence of Mika Zibanejad as a frontline center and the play of rookie defender Adam Fox. Adding Lafrenière would give them a stellar collection of young players.
5. Nashville Predators: While the Predators are still one of hockey’s best defensive groups and one of the most aggressive general managers, their offense has remained mediocre at best in recent years, even after trading Seth Jones for Ryan Johansen and signing Matt Duchene. They had reached the playoffs for five consecutive seasons, losing in the Stanley Cup Final in 2017, but their resume seems incomplete without the ultimate prize. There’s a lot to like about an advanced core that includes Lafrenière, Johnansen, Duchene, Viktor Arvidsson, and Filip Forsberg.
6. Winnipeg Jets: Coach Paul Maurice has apparently been successful in developing his talented young offensive players, and Lafrenière would only add more explosiveness to an exciting squad. With Mark Scheifele, Kyle Connor, Blake Wheeler, Patrik Laine and Nik Ehlers, Lafrenière would have a suitable supporting cast to help his game develop, without having to be the first producer immediately. Outside of those players, however, the Jets are a bit heavy and could use some offensive depth. Maybe getting Lafrenière would be karma for the Jets who lose Scheifele and Laine in Game 1 of the qualifying round.
7. Florida Panthers: Florida spent the last offseason with goaltenders (Sergei Bobrovsky) to finish third worst in goals against. It’s also a market that continues to struggle to attract fans, finishing 29th in home attendance average (14,401), according to ESPN. Perhaps a dynamic talent like Lafrenière could rejuvenate the franchise.
8. Minnesota Wild: Minnesota have never picked more than a third, which they did in their first season. Even though winger Kevin Fiala has broken through, the roster is growing old and many of the Wild’s other top players (Ryan Suter, Zach Parise, Eric Staal) are 35 or older. Lafrenière would infuse high-end talent, fresh legs and excitement to the franchise that has slipped in recent years.