Wednesday FTB: Taylor Hall for MVP

Last night was the NHL draft lottery that determined the fate of franchises! Going in, the main story was would Ottawa’s pick that they traded to Colorado in the Duchene deal wind up turning into Jack Hughes!

Spoiler: it didn’t, it didn’t even turn into Kappo Kakko or whoever the third overall pick winds up being.

But even before that was determined, the real story became Taylor Hall’s brilliant commentary. It started with this...

This has been some kind of heater folks. This is like when you’ve hit the blackjack tables and made 10x the money you came with. For one final bet, you toss on half your winnings and hope for the best. Either way, you’ve gotten lucky and came out ahead. Here goes https://t.co/sbrRmx770V

— Taylor Hall (@hallsy09) April 9, 2019

And after New Jersey was announced as the winner of the lottery, it led to these:

They talk about Gretzky’s 92 goals or Sittler’s 10 pts in one game as records that may never be broken. But winning 5 draft lotteries in your first 9 years in the league? In 2 different draft lottery eras, no less. That is a record that will stand forever.

— Taylor Hall (@hallsy09) April 10, 2019

taylor hall: no. 1 pick god pic.twitter.com/55wuVpEzkF

— ً (@prunedjoos) April 10, 2019

The other two winners of the lottery wound up being the New York Rangers (meh) to draft 2nd, and the Chicago Blackhawks (BOOOO!) to draft 3rd.

The Chicago Blackhawks will be moving up into the top 3.

This calls for an outdoor game.

— Kevin Papetti (@KPapetti) April 10, 2019

So here’s how the draft order has been determined so far, which is just the non-playoff teams:

1. Devils
2. Rangers
3. Blackhawks
4. Colorado (via Ottawa)
5. Kings
6. Red Wings
7. Sabres
8. Oilers
9. Ducks
10. Canucks
11. Flyers
12. Wild
13. Panthers
14. Coyotes
15. Canadiens

So good news for the Leafs, as none of the top 5 picks will go to a division opponent.

ONTO THE LINKS!

Espoo 2019 day six: Canada beats Finland 6-1 | by nafio, Annie and Katya

Toronto vs Boston: regular season stats comparison | by Katya

The 2019 NHL anti-awards | by Elseldo

The Newest Marlies: A breakdown of the three late-season signings | by Scort Wheeler, has a good look at Duszack, Brazeau and Conrad.

Mike Babcock on Jake Gardiner | full transcript of his quotes from yesterday for those who have not already seen them, as transcribed by MLHS

Reactions to the lottery results from our SB Nation cousins:

New Jersey Devils Win First Overall Pick in the 2019 NHL Draft Lottery | All About The Jersey

New York Rangers Will Pick No. 2 Overall At 2019 NHL Draft | Blueshirt Banter

Blackhawks move up to No. 3 pick in 2019 NHL Draft | Second City Hockey

Have a happy Wednesday y’all!