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.
— Kevin Papetti (@KPapetti) April 10, 2019
This calls for an outdoor game.
So here’s how the draft order has been determined so far, which is just the non-playoff teams:
- Devils
- Rangers
- Blackhawks
- Colorado (via Ottawa)
- Kings
- Red Wings
- Sabres
- Oilers
- Ducks
- Canucks
- Flyers
- Wild
- Panthers
- Coyotes
- 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!
