Chicago Blackhawks: Would it be better to lose to Edmonton?
Would the Chicago Blackhawks be better off losing to the Edmonton Oilers?
As you know by now, the Chicago Blackhawks are going to play in the 24 teams “Return to Play” format if they are able to. The format put out the Hawks as the 12th seed in the Western Conference based on their regular-season points percentage and they are matched up against the 5th seeded Edmonton Oilers. It will certainly be a tough series for every team involved but the Blackhawks and Oilers will certainly be a doozy.
The question remains, would the Blackhawks be better off if they were to lose in the first round and be inserted into the Draft Lottery. All eight teams that lose in the play-in series will have a chance at the lottery if the top three spots aren’t won by the non-playoff teams. Either way, having a top-ten pick in this year’s draft is really going to help a lot of teams because it is perceived as one of the deepest drafts in many years.
At the top, there is a kid named Alexis Lafreniere who plays for the Rimouski Oceanic of the QMJHL and he is awesome. He will step into the NHL as soon as next season and be an impact player. Picks two and three are agued over two kids named Tim Stutzle and Quinton Byfield. They are both very good in their own ways but each will make some NHL team very happy.
Having a chance at players like that might be more worth it than having teams like the St. Louis Blues, Colorado Avalanche, Vegas Golden Knights, or Dallas Stars stomp them in the first round of the playoffs. The Hawks obviously may have a small chance with players like Patrick Kane and Corey Crawford but let’s be honest, they were the last Western Conference team in for a reason.
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Even if they were to get bounced by Edmonton but not win one of the three lotteries, they would still have a chance at a very good player in the 8-15 range. This is a deep draft with lots of great players who would benefit the future of this organization as it looks to move forward after some pretty lackluster years. Nobody is going to actively root against their favorite team but if they do lose to Edmonton, there is certainly a silver lining.