Blackhawks: What would it mean to draft Alexis Lafreniere?

The Chicago Blackhawks don’t know if they will get the 1st overall pick but they do know that if they do, Alexis Lafreniere is the guy.

The Chicago Blackhawks are getting ready to play against the Edmonton Oilers in the “play-in round” that will take place ahead of the first round of the revised Stanley Cup Playoffs. That is going to begin on August 1st in two hub cities (Edmonton and Toronto) and end in late September/early October. The Hawks weren’t very good in 2019-20 but they were good enough to squeak into this 24 team tournament.

Based on the recent events of the Draft Lottery, however, there has been a wrinkle to the rooting interest in the fans of a lot of bubble playoff teams. The Ottawa Senators won the third overall pick and the Los Angeles Kings are going to pick second. The first overall pick, however, has been won via the lottery by one of the eight teams that are going to lose in the play-in round. There will be a second lottery held to determine that winner.

Well, if the Chicago Blackhawks defeated the Edmonton Oilers because they did a good job of containing Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl, Patrick Kane went off, or Corey Crawford stood on his head, would they have a realistic chance to then defeat one of the St. Louis Blues, Colorado Avalanche, Dallas Stars, or Vegas Golden Knights? The answer is probably not. Nobody is saying that any Hawks fan should root against their team, but losing could have a major benefit.

Now, if they lost to the Oilers, they would only have a one in eight chance of winning the lottery but that is good enough odds to at least be intrigued by it. The current Blackhawks players don’t want to hear it but winning this lottery would really help advance their retool that they are going to need to continue going through.

What awaits the team who wins the lottery? His name is Alexis Lafreniere and he plays for the Rimouski Oceanic of the QMJHL. He is going to be a day one NHL player and a good one at that. He has to be excited because he isn’t going to a team that finished in the bottom five of the standings like most number one picks do. He should have so really good teammates no matter where he goes which should help elevate his numbers.

TSN hockey insider, Bob McKenzie, said that in the last ten years, he would only take Connor McDavid, Nathan MacKinnon, and Auston Matthews as better first overall picks than Lafreniere. That means he thinks he is better than some really good players like Taylor Hall, Nico Hischier, and Rasmus Dahlin to name a few. If he got to play on a power play with a guy like Kane, that would be very fun to watch and he would put up impressive numbers.

Drafting a kid like this would mean the world to the Blackhawks. They are trying to build a new core to take over for when the legends are done. They already have it started with guys like Alex DeBrincat, Kirby Dach, Adam Boqvist, and Ian Mitchell. Adding Lafreniere to that mix would be so amazing for this team’s outlook on the next decade or more. It will be interesting to see how things shake out against the Oil, but there might be a sweet consolation prize for losing.