Not since Auston Matthews and that other Connor guy have we had an NHL prospect this hyped, and for good reason.
Connor Bedard has ripped it up at every single level he’s been at, most recently potting 51 goals and 101 points in his 16-year-old season with the WHL’s Regina Pats. With such absurd numbers to match his absurd talent level, there’s no shortage of teams blatantly throwing in the towel this season for even the slightest chance at securing the surefire No. 1 pick next June.
With how the NHL Draft Lottery is structured, There’s no guarantee finishing last earns you the top pick, but these squads have at least positioned themselves to be in the running for the franchise-altering North Vancouver native.
As preseason comes to a close, here’s the first edition of our “Tanking Rankings” to kick off the 2022-23 campaign.
The rebuild is going well in Montreal and quicker than expected, but it’s hard to see this team as currently assembled as anything other than a bottom-five squad this year.
With the long-term loss of Carey Price and his possible pending retirement, goaltending is a real question mark, which is generally a death sentence for a young squad trying to find its footing. The wheels are in motion for Kent Hughes and the Canadiens, but another year near the basement with a chance to land Bedard wouldn’t be the worst next step for Montreal.
4) Seattle Kraken
Seattle’s first season in the league was a real grind, and they haven’t added much to get better in the short-term. That was probably the plan for general manager Ron Francis and Co. when they put together the organization’s five-year plan and saw Bedard sitting there ready to be had in 2023.
Seattle is building its team slowly and surely, and haven’t showed any signs of swaying from that strategy. Their sub-par goaltending is another reason they’ll struggle, but all will be well if they give up enough goals to ensure Seattle has the best possible chance of landing Bedard.
Not only are the Coyotes no good on the ice, they’re even more of a circus off of it. Playing in a literal college arena for the next few years — one that players are reportedly already openly disgruntled about — is just the latest in a long list of off-ice transgressions and embarrassments that have plagued Arizona over the past half-decade or so.
A subpar roster, little organizational direction and waning player moral could all contribute to one of the worst Coyotes seasons in recent memory, which is saying a lot. The good news for the Yotes, however, is the amount of draft capital they’ve accumulated with 18 draft picks in the top three rounds over the next three seasons. With plenty more cap space to offer contending teams, there’s a lot more picks where those came from, too. Hitting on those picks and developing them has been a problem for Arizona, but if they’re the lucky squad to secure Connor Bedard, that likely won’t be much of an issue.
The fact is this roster just isn’t any good — arguably one of the worst in the league — and Carter Hart isn’t quite good enough (who is?) to keep this squad from its likely bottom-five finish in the standings this season.
GM Chuck Fletcher and his front office’s reluctance to go into full-rebuild, draft-and-develop mode has cost them the past couple campaigns, and this could end up being the team’s worst season in a while based on how things are shaping up.
Sure, John Tortorella could inject enough life into this team to keep it from totally plummeting, but the odds are just as good that it goes the other way and right off the rails in a hurry.
With the end of the Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews “championship” eras on the horizon, the Blackhawks front office went into full teardown mode this offseason, notably offloading star forward Alex DeBrincat and 2019 third overall pick Kirby Dach, also losing Dylan Strome and Calvin de Haan, among some other depth pieces, in free agency this summer.
Kane and Toews will be flipped at some point this season as well, which will leave this roster in tough, tough shape. Wouldn’t be pretty shocking if these Blackhawks don’t finish last overall.
Honourable mentions: San Jose Sharks, Anaheim Ducks, Buffalo Sabres, Ottawa Senators
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