from Michael Traikos of the National Post,
Just how competitive is the race to the bottom?
Well, Chicago has only eight wins so far this year. Meanwhile, Anaheim and Columbus have racked up fewer points than Boston has wins. A dozen other teams are closer to a draft lottery pick than a playoff spot.
In other words, we could be looking at one of the worst seasons in NHL history. At their current pace, the Blackhawks will finish the season with 44 points, which would be the lowest finish since 1993, when Ottawa and San Jose managed just 24 points in hopes of landing Alexander Daigle. And that was in a year where teams played 84 games.
More recently, Toronto finished last overall with 69 points in 2016 when Auston Matthews was the prized No. 1 pick. A year earlier, Buffalo tanked with 54 points in hopes of landing Connor McDavid. And Pittsburgh, Chicago and Washington all finished with less than 60 points when Alex Ovechkin and Evgeni Malkin headlined the 2004 draft.
No question, the chance of landing a really good prospect can cause teams to suddenly play poorly. And Bedard, who has broken every scoring record possible en route to the championship final, appears to be one of those players.
How else to explain why Columbus has lost 14 of its past 18 games. Or that Montreal, which headed into Thursday’s game against the New York Rangers, had allowed 22 goals in its past three games. Or why Anaheim had allowed 68 more goals than they had scored.
Shitcago is doing exactly what it always does, try to manipulate the rules as much as they possibly can.
They have intentionally tanked a season multiple times in the last decade. Why other GMs don't want to change the rules is beyond me.
The only question to my mind is: "What will Gary manipulate to make sure Bedard is drafted by Pittsburgh?"
He will think of something.
Create an Account
In order to leave a comment, please create an account.