Canadiens Notes: Drouin, Okulov, Free Agency
One of the underlying reasons why the Montreal Canadiens were unable to hold on to a wild card spot down the stretch was the poor play of one of their best players, Jonathan Drouin. Speaking with Alexis Belanger-Champagne of La Presse, Drouin acknowledged that his play suffered when it matter most in the final games of the season. He even owned his decreased ice time, understanding that head coach Claude Julien needed productive, confident players on the ice and he was playing frustrated and failing to find results. Drouin finished the season with 53 points in 81 games, but only contributed one goal and two assists in Montreal’s final 18 games. Yet, for all of his late-season struggles, Drouin does not expect to be shopped this off-season. The 24-year-old forward did match a career-high in points this year and early in the season was on pace to shatter all previous personal marks. Drouin knows that he dropped the ball, but tells Belanger-Champagne that he is happy with the Canadiens and knows he can be a difference-maker once again next season and beyond. GM Marc Bergevin seems to agree. Bergevin told La Presse that Drouin showed maturity with how he handled his poor play and that he understands his role on the team. Bergevin expects the young scorer to “take another step forward next year.” At $5.5MM for four more years, Drouin can still be a bargain for the Habs and certainly a dependable top-six forward. Bergevin is not one to overreact, so expect Drouin to be back in the bleu, blanc, et rougue next year.
- Drouin’s return doesn’t mean that the Canadiens won’t try to address their offense this summer. In fact, the team already has their sights set on an import out of Russia. Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reports that Montreal is “high” on KHL forward Konstantin Okulov. Okulov, 24, is currently playing in the Gagarin Cup Final with CSKA Moscow and his breakout regular season has extended into the postseason. The skilled forward has 12 points in 15 playoff games following a career-high 20 goals and 31 points in 48 regular season games. The Habs would like to see if his high-powered game can translate to the NHL. Unfortunately, Friedman also notes that Okulov is under contract for one more year with CSKA and may not be available to Montreal this off-season. Unless he both wants and is granted a release from his contract, the Canadiens may need to keep scouting for another year.
- As for attracting free agents already in the NHL, The Montreal Gazette’s Pat Hickey opines that the Canadiens may have a tough time luring top names to Montreal this summer despite ample cap space. It doesn’t have anything to do with team personnel, either. Hickey notes that taxes and cost of living are among the negatives of making the move to Montreal and claims that has deterred free agents in recent years. However, Hickey adds that this might not be a bad things, as Bergevin’s track record of late has been better with trades than it has been with signings. The Habs will undoubtedly still add a few free agents, but in need of a veteran backup goalie, a top-four defenseman, and a top-six forward, the team will likely have to tackle the trade market to address at least one of those holes.
Jeff Carter Plans To Play Out Current Contract
The Los Angeles Kings’ disappointing 2018-19 season is now behind them and they are looking ahead to a fresh start next season. Part of improving the optimism around the team heading into next year would be opening up some salary cap space, as the Kings currently have one of the highest payrolls already committed to 2019-20 with the NHL off-season still to come. L.A. showed this season that their current core doesn’t have what it takes to be a contender, so moving out an expensive veteran piece to open up room to add in free agency and trades or at least give some promising young prospects an increased role is certainly in their plans.
One of the easiest ways that the team could have seen a significant drop-off in salary would have been if veteran center Jeff Carter had opted to retire, as many fans and local media members have (wishfully) speculated. Carter, who has three years remaining on his contract at a $5.27MM AAV, turned 34 this season and celebrated with the worst season of his career. Carter – who missed considerable time due to injury in 2017-18, but was still close to a point-per-game player – managed to record only 33 points in 76 games this year, including a career-worst 13 goals and -20 rating. While the situation was not helped any by the Kings’ overall lack of production, Carter certainly showed signs of his age and was easily the worst value player on the roster. As a result, there was hope by some that he may simply retire and walk away from his remaining money.
Don’t count on it, writes The Athletic’s Josh Cooper. After sitting down with Carter, Cooper relays that not only did he deny all retirement rumors, but stated that he hopes to play out the remaining three years of his contract (and collect his $7MM left in salary). He hopes that he can do just that with L.A., as well. Carter lacks any trade protection in his current contract, so he knows that he could be moved, but would not prefer it. “I want to be an L.A. King”, the respected veteran told Cooper, “I want to help change things around here.”
Unfortunately, the team may not be so eager to continue the relationship. The cap space alone is an issue, but Cooper also cites the team’s impressive prospect depth down the middle as a reason why Carter is viewed as expendable. Carter, who is 20 games away from 1,000 in his career, is still a valuable asset for his experience and versatility, but Cooper acknowledges that he is a major candidate to be on the move this summer, regardless.
A trade is certainly possible and there would be a market for Carters’ services. However, it would not be a market that would net the Kings anything of value and could very well still cost them against the salary cap with either retained salary or another expensive contract in return. Cooper even relays word from another NHL executive that the market value for Carter is “quite low” right now. One has to wonder if trading Carter for actual value might be easier if GM Rob Blake waits until the next trade deadline and hope he re-establishes his ability in that time.
Cooper doubts that a beneficial deal to move Carter can be found, at least this off-season, so could a buyout be a better option? Such a decision does not offer much cap relief; Carter would still count for more than $3MM next year and more than $4MM in the two years prior, followed by another three years at $778K. In fact, Cooper calls Carter the “least attractive candidate” to be bought out due to the structure of his remaining contract. With the lack of savings, L.A. would be better off holding on to Carter and hoping he can rebound.
For now, there doesn’t seem to be an easy way to get Carter’s contract off the books. Perhaps Kings fans can be content in knowing that Carter is still determined to play and help the team in their rebuild. They may have no choice other than hoping the 700+-point player can return to form, as no alternative solutions seem to be on the horizon. Carter has three years left on his contract and plans to see it through – expect those three seasons to be with L.A. until the status quo changes for the veteran forward.
Senators Notes: Coach, Chabot, Free Agency
Pierre Dorion took to the podium today in Ottawa to hold his year-end media availability, and answered questions about the direction of the franchise and evaluation of its core group. One of the biggest topics was the coaching vacancy, which is currently held by Marc Crawford on an interim basis. Dorion told reporters including Bruce Garrioch of Postmedia that while Crawford will be interviewed for the job at some point, the team is also looking at a list of five to six other candidates.
The organization made it clear what they were looking for in a new head coach when they announced the firing of Guy Boucher, listing key attributes that would be needed. At the very top of that list was “teacher,” as the team must bring in someone who can develop their young players and get the best out of them quickly.
- Thomas Chabot will play for Team Canada at the upcoming IIHF World Championship, another step in his development path. The 22-year old defenseman may be the most important player on the Senators roster after putting together an outstanding season, and a chance to experience some more high-level hockey will only help his growth. Chabot recorded 55 points in 70 games this season and will be eligible for an extension on July 1. Dorion told reporters today that there had been preliminary talks and that they will try to sign him to a long-term deal.
- Garrioch also notes on Twitter that Dorion said he may try to add a veteran as free agency opens, something that wouldn’t be surprising given the salary cap situation the team is in. The Senators project to have just over $45MM committed to next season according to CapFriendly, though that covers just 14 roster players. The team will have to add a fair amount to reach the salary cap floor, though new deals for restricted free agents Cody Ceci, Colin White and Anthony Duclair should get them a good chunk of the way there. The team isn’t expecting to compete next season, but bringing in a veteran presence for the locker room in order to help the young players develop their professional habits is a route often taken by rebuilding clubs.
Blackhawks Expect To Be Active In Free Agency
Last summer, the Blackhawks were fairly quiet on the free agent market with their July 1st signings consisting of goalie Cam Ward, defenseman Brandon Manning, and winger Chris Kunitz. As a cap-strapped team with several holes to fill, they had no choice but to look at bringing in depth players.
That should change this summer, at least if GM Stan Bowman has his way. Speaking with reporters, including NBC Sports Chicago’s Charlie Roumeliotis, Bowman indicated that he expects that the team will be a lot more active on the open market than they have been in recent years.
The expected departures of Ward, Kunitz, and center Marcus Kruger give Chicago $6.775MM to play with while they’re also not weighed down by Marian Hossa’s long-term cap hit ($5.275MM through 2020-21) either. While Hossa’s career is over, that amount is on the books in the summer which restricted the flexibility that the Blackhawks had at the time.
As things stand, Chicago has a little under $61MM tied up in 15 players for next season, per CapFriendly. With the Upper Limit expected to push past the $80MM mark, that leaves them with lots of room to work with.
Having said that, they would be wise not to spend right to the cap ceiling with multi-year deals. Winger Alex DeBrincat is a restricted free agent next summer and his next contract is going to be a hefty one after he put up 41 goals this season so they’ll need to keep some money aside for that deal. They may also want to keep a bit freed up for next summer knowing that starting goalie Corey Crawford is going to be an unrestricted free agent and they will likely need to commit big money to a starter, whether that’s Crawford or someone else.
Even with that in mind, however, they should have enough to make a splash on the free agent market in July. They’ve been speculatively linked to Blue Jackets winger Artemi Panarin given his success with Chicago in the past but they may also want to look into upgrading their back end as well. Whichever way they go, Bowman will have some financial flexibility to work with and it has been a while since he had that.
Snapshots: Three Stars, Hitchcock, Skinner
The NHL has released their three stars of last week, and in the lead is a player who has had quite a roller coaster season. Vladimir Tarasenko had seven points in four games to help secure a Central Division playoff spot for the St. Louis Blues, just months after being one of the players rumored to be drawing interest in trade negotiations. The Blues went from a team considering blowing up its core to one that very well could contend for the Stanley Cup, and Tarasenko’s turnaround is one of the reasons why. The 27-year old sniper scored 46 points in his final 39 games and was a +23 during that time, finishing the year with his fifth consecutive season of 33 or more goals.
It’s not just the Blues who have hot players heading into the playoffs though, as Pekka Rinne of the Nashville Predators and Alexander Radulov of the Dallas Stars take home the other two stars this week. Rinne is proving once again that he is one of the most reliable goaltenders in the entire league and enters the playoffs as Nashville’s presumptive starter despite a strong push by backup Juuse Saros. Radulov meanwhile finished his season strong and crossed the point-per-game threshold for the first time in his career, ending with 72 in 70 games played.
- The Edmonton Oilers will let their next GM decide what to do with the coaching position, as CEO Bob Nicholson told reporters today that Ken Hitchcock‘s time behind the bench has come to an end for the time being. The legendary coach was only meant to be in that position for the rest of this season, and though Nicholson wouldn’t rule out the idea of him returning, said the new GM will be able to hire who he wants. Hitchcock will stay in the Oilers organization as an advisor, something the incoming front office will need as they try to turn things around for the organization.
- After a disastrous season in Buffalo the Sabres fired their coach and held frustrated media availability today, but the focus will now turn to pending unrestricted free agent Jeff Skinner. The team has been in contact with Skinner’s representatives for some time, and the talented forward once again reiterated that he loves the city and organization and has “had a great time.” Skinner scored 40 goals for the first time in his career and could potentially be one of the very best forwards available this summer. The clock is ticking for the Sabres, as every day that passes makes the chance at free agency that much harder to resist.
Cody Ceci Hopes To Sign Long-Term Contract
The Ottawa Senators traded away almost all of their important free agents this season, sending Erik Karlsson, Matt Duchene, Ryan Dzingel and Mark Stone out of town before having to deal with an offseason negotiation. Now the focus will turn from UFA to RFA, as several key players need new contracts before the 2019-20 season gets underway.
One of those names, Cody Ceci, is something of an enigma as the offseason begins. The 25-year old defenseman was awarded a $4.3MM contract in arbitration last summer, making him one of the most expensive players on the Senators rosters. In fact, Ceci’s salary is almost equal to the total of the other five defensemen—Mark Borowiecki, Dylan DeMelo, Thomas Chabot, Christian Jaros and Ben Harpur—that finished the year on the active roster. Another round in arbitration would likely give Ceci another raise, though it’s unclear where exactly that number would land.
It appears as though the defenseman wants to avoid that situation entirely, as he told reporters today including Bruce Garrioch of Postmedia that he has discussed a long-term deal with the Senators front office and wants to get something done before long. That could help them keep the cap hit down, and potentially secure a core player before unrestricted free agency hangs over their heads for another year. Though Ceci will only be 26 next summer, he will have already played seven seasons in the NHL and would qualify for UFA status.
The question is, whether Ceci should even be considered a core piece at all. Analytically-minded talent evaluators have pointed out for years that Ceci is deployed much more heavily than he should be, something that didn’t change even after Guy Boucher was relieved of his coaching duties partway through the season. In fact, Ceci logged more than 26 minutes in the final game of the season, and finished the year with an average of 22:34 per night. That huge amount of ice time resulted in him tying his career-high of 26 points, but also brought with it a -22 rating and a 44.1% CF%.
Still, there seems to be an appetite for Ceci in Ottawa and belief in him as a top-four defenseman. Perhaps with a better supporting cast and new coaching staff the team can coax the best out of him, especially given the extremely tough matchups that may have colored his statistics for the last few years. If a long-term deal can’t be achieved, the arbitration will only be able to award Ceci a one-year deal which would instantly make him a trade candidate on the rebuilding club.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images
Snapshots: McDavid, Getzlaf, Murray, Engelland, Kubalik
While their regular season ended and their offseason had begun, the team still saw a scary scene unfold in the second period of Saturday’s game against Calgary when Connor McDavid tried to skate past defenseman Mark Giordano, but had his feet knocked out of him as his leg slammed against the goalpost. He didn’t return.
However, the team had good news today as McDavid walked into the clubhouse in a leg brace, but without crutches and x-rays showed there was no break, although results of an MRI had not come back in. TSN’s Tom Gazzola reports that McDavid believed that his leg was broken the moment it happened. McDavid finished the season second in the league in scoring as he tallied 41 goals and 116 points this season. It looks like McDavid has avoided a serious injury.
- The Department of Player Safety announced that they have fined Anaheim Ducks forward Ryan Getzlaf $2,500 for roughing Los Angeles Kings forward Adrian Kempe. The incident happened in the final minutes of the season finale on Saturday when Getzlaf sucker-punched Kempe against the boards. Both players received 10-minute misconduct penalties as well as Kyle Clifford and Nick Ritchie.
- The Columbus Blue Jackets have two defensemen out with injuries and their status hasn’t changed as the team gets ready for the first round of the playoffs later this week against Tampa Bay. The Columbus Dispath’s Brian Hedger writes that defenseman Ryan Murray continues to be out with an upper-body injury. He has missed 24 games with his injury. Meanwhile Adam McQuaid also sits out with an upper-body injury as his status also hasn’t improved. McQuaid has missed five games.
- Despite heading for unrestricted free agency this summer, Vegas Golden Knights defenseman Deryk Engelland isn’t ready to retire. The 37-year-old said he’s healthy and wants to keep playing, according to Las Vegas Review-Journal’s David Schoen. “Keep playing. That’s the goal. I feel good out there,” said Engelland. “I’m not banged up or anything like that. If you talk to anyone that’s done, they tell you play as long as you can.”
- During the end-of-the-season press conference, Chicago Blackhawks general manager Stan Bowman said that he envisions the team bringing over prospect Dominik Kubalik and having him on the Blackhawks’ roster next season, according to The Athletic’s Mark Lazerus. The hope is that he will make a similar impact that Dominik Kahun did this season. The 23-year-old forward’s rights were acquired from the Los Angeles Kings in January for a fifth-round pick, but Kubalik scored 25 goals and 57 points in 50 games in the NLA this year.
Rangers Notes: Free Agency, Kravtsov, Fast, Lundqvist, Kreider
The New York Rangers wrapped up their regular season Saturday and began cleaning out their lockers, but after a season in which the team finished in seventh place in the Metropolitan Division with a 32-36-14 season, general manager Jeff Gorton admitted that while he likes what he sees in terms of the team developing under head coach David Quinn, he expects to see changes.
NHL.com’s Dan Rosen reports that Gorton said the Rangers will likely look to add through free agency this summer to speed up their rebuilding project that the team started last season in February when they decided to make changes to the team.
“There’s a lot of things that can happen this summer to speed that up,” Gorton said. “I think we will try to do everything we can to advance it.”
One obvious possibility would be for the Rangers to try to persuade free agent Artemi Panarin to come to New York. The star winger has been rumored to be interested in signing a free-agent contract with either the Rangers or Florida Panthers, although the Panthers likelihood of bringing Panarin to Florida may have improved if they can sign his former head coach Joel Quenneville to a contract. Regardless, the Rangers could be in play for a number of intriguing free agents, including center Matt Duchene.
- In the same press conference, Gorton added that the Rangers are doing everything possible to get their two top prospects signed, including 2018 first-rounder Vitali Kravtsov and goaltender Igor Shestyorkin. Kravtsov played 50 games in the KHL, posting eight goals as an 18-year-old, but the team must wait until his contract expires at the end of the month. Shestorkin has dominated the KHL for a number of years now, putting up an unreal 1.11 GAA and a .953 save percentage.
- The Rangers also announced that forward Jesper Fast undewent thumb surgery and is expected to be ready to train in six weeks. Fast had surgery last Monday to repair torn ligaments and a fracture in his left thumb. The injury, which Fast sustained near the all-star break, didn’t heal properly, which then required surgery. The 27-year-old had eight goals and 20 points in 66 games.
- Goaltender Henrik Lundqvist also spoke about his disappointing season, according to Rosen. The veteran goaltender had a strong first half, but struggled mightily after that. He played in 35 games before the all-star break, winning 15 games, a 3.o1 GAA and a .908 save percentage, but that number dropped to just 17 appearances after the all-star break where he had just three victories with a 3.18 GAA and a .904 save percentage. Lundqvist said he felt really good when he was hoping the Rangers would surprise people, but admitted it was tougher when he knew they weren’t.
- The Rangers announced that forward Chris Kreider will play for Team USA at the World Championships this summer. Rosen reports that Kreider hopes that he and the Rangers can iron out a long-term extension this summer as he is eligible to sign an extension on July 1 as he will be in the last year of his contract. Gorton also had a comment on the situation, “Chris is a goal scorer and they’re hard to find. We’ll figure out what’s the appropriate way to go here in the coming weeks.”
Roberto Luongo Could Return As Florida’s Backup Next Season
The future for Florida Panthers icon Roberto Luongo is still a mystery, with the veteran keeper stating as recently as two weeks ago that he was undecided on what his next move would be and would wait until the off-season to make that call. However, The Athletic’s George Richards heard enough from talking to Luongo recently to believe that the future Hall of Famer is not quite ready to hang up his skates. The main piece of evidence: Luongo would be happy to serve in a backup role next season and possibly beyond, which is perhaps the only way his storied career can continue.
Luongo, 40, is undoubtedly in decline. Although his 42 appearances – 43 after Saturday’s season finale start – are an improvement over each of the past two seasons, his .900 save percentage and 3.10 GAA have made this the worst season of his 19-year career. Luongo entered the season as the Panthers starting goalie, backed up by another veteran in James Reimer, but that hierarchy has not exactly held up. Luongo and Reimer have almost identically poor stats, with Luongo making only six more appearances than Reimer. The two have essentially been a time share with rookie Samuel Montembeault also making eleven appearances and performing only marginally worse than the experienced tandem. Richards writes that the status quo will almost certainly change before next season. Luongo is obviously still undecided about his future, but regardless Reimer is not expected to be back and Montembeault is likely to remain a presence. The Panthers are going to add a new starting goalie in free agency, with many speculating that Columbus Blue Jackets star Sergei Bobrovksy could be the primary target.
So, if he was to return, Luongo would have to be content to sit behind another established netminder, which Richards notes includes increased practice time alongside decreased play time. While the limited action could in fact improve the performance of the aging keeper, it’s not exactly a role that many players of Luongo’s pedigree would be happy to take on. Yet, he seems open to the prospect:
I have done it before. I know what it takes. I realize I am 40 years old, and taking on a heavy workload at this age is tough. I am well aware if I come back, that is the likely scenario for me. And I am OK with that. I like to practice. The only time I don’t practice is if I am tired, but if I am not playing as many games, I would have more energy to practice and work on my game. When I have missed some time, I have had some of my best games when I have come back. So, that’s not an issue at all.
For fans of the storied goaltender, this has to be good news. For fans of the Panthers and Vancouver Canucks, it also bodes well for their respective teams’ payrolls. With three years remaining on his contract at a cap hit of $5.33MM but salaries of $1.6MM or less, Luongo’s contract was a front-loaded behemoth that would slap both his current club and former club with cap recapture penalties if he retired early. Avoiding leaving that sour taste in the mouths of his supporters is likely another factor that Luongo is considering and that could persuade him to return.
At the end of the day though, the decision will come down to an amalgam of many different choices and they won’t all be made by Luongo alone. As he tells Richards, the goal right now is to get through the end of the season, clear his head, and then consider all options:
I want to sit down and have a talk with (the Panthers) because, right now, everything else is hearsay. I want to make sure everyone is on the same page and we all want the same thing. We will see what the plans are for the team moving forward. For me, there are a lot of things involved in the decision, but sitting down with management and seeing their plan is the first step… It is important for me to make that decision once this season is over — after we are removed from everything. We have to see where everyone is at. This is not just up to me. I think the team has something to say about it as well. We will come to that when the time comes.
So for those expecting tomorrow to be the last hurrah of an NHL star, don’t be so sure. Luongo has struggled in net this season, has struggled with injuries in recent years, and could struggle with a decision to take a back seat if he was to continue playing. However, if he really is open to being the backup, it would allow Luongo to keep fueling the fire he has to play hockey, which appears to be as strong as ever, while also limiting his work load and injury exposure. It seems like a good fit and may just be one that keeps a living legend in the game.
Metropolitan Notes: Yzerman, Rangers, Penguins, Devils
The announcement yesterday that long-time New York Rangers president Glen Sather would be stepping down from his hockey operations role has opened up a vacancy that will be highly valued by many. The New York Post’s Larry Brooks writes that former Tampa Bay Lightning GM Steve Yzerman could be one of a number of experienced players or executives with their eye on the job. Yzerman notably left his post as Tampa’s GM prior to this season and many have speculated that he would be moving on to a new team and new title this off-season. Much of that speculation has centered around his former club, the Detroit Red Wings, but Brooks believes the top job in New York would also be a desirable destination. While Brooks cites several sources, he also stops short of confirming Yzerman’s interest in the job, saying that he simply “is amenable to being wooed” and would not “necessarily accept an offer if one were to be presented.” Nevertheless, the prospect of Yzerman joining the rebuilding Rangers, who are both a popular free agent destination and a well-stocked farm system, is intriguing. Yzerman has a track record of success with the Lightning and Team Canada and could be a major asset in turning the Rangers around in short order.
- Brooks also names current Columbus Blue Jackets President of Hockey Operations John Davidson as a candidate to make a lateral move over to the division rival Rangers. In fact, Brooks names Davidson and Yzerman as the two favorites to replace Sather at this point. Other possible candidates include Rangers legend and Hall of Famer Brian Leetch, another long-time Ranger and current radio analyst Dave Maloney, and the recently retired Brad Richards. Brooks believes that the Rangers will work quickly to name a new president, citing Sather himself as saying the team hopes to make the hire by at least the start of free agency, if not by the NHL Entry Draft.
- Two exciting Pittsburgh Penguins prospects are getting a taste of the pro game for the remainder of the season. The AHL’s Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins announced that forward Jordy Bellerive and defenseman Calen Addison have been signed to amateur tryout offers and have joined the team. The Lethbridge Hurricanes teammates saw their junior season end in the first round of the WHL playoffs, but are now on to a new challenge. Bellerive, 19, was undrafted but signed as free agent with the Penguins ahead of the 2017-18 season. He has since posted 175 points in 139 games over back-to-back tremendous seasons. The Lethbridge captain is arguably the Penguins’ top forward prospect and the team will be interested to see how he looks in the minors. Meanwhile, Addison may be Pittsburgh’s top defense prospect. The small, but speedy blue liner just completed his second season of near point-per-game production and is developing into the type of puck-moving defenseman that is re-shaping the way the NHL is played. A second-round pick last year, the Penguins spent considerable draft capital on Addison, but have to be happy with his consistent offensive play and the growth of his two-way game.
- Fans of the New Jersey Devils will be fans of the Los Angeles Kings for the final two days of the regular season. While the Ottawa Senators (aka the Colorado Avalanche) have locked up the best odds in the upcoming NHL Draft Lottery, the No. 2 spot is still up for grabs and only the Devils and Kings can claim it. New Jersey, at 70 points with one game remaining, is currently in the third spot, but L.A. has 69 points and two games remaining. Just a single point out of four could be enough to give the Devils the second-best odds at winning the first overall pick. The difference in odds between second place and third place is only 2%, but this year in particular the No. 2 spot has added value. The presumptive top two picks in the upcoming draft, forwards Jack Hughes and Kaapo Kakko, are in a tier of their own. If the lottery yields results matching the final leagues standings, as is statistically the most likely outcome, there is a major difference between drafting second overall versus third. The Devils could move up into one of those top two spots regardless of their finish, but have the best chances with a Kings win on Friday or Saturday as well as their own loss in the season finale. New Jersey just won the draft lottery in 2017, moving from No. 5 to No. 1 and selection Nico Hischier helped fuel the team to a playoff appearance last year. Another elite young talent to pair with Hischier and a healthy Taylor Hall could again make the 2019-20 season a “worst-to-first” scenario for the Devils.