Which teams are racing to the bottom of the NHL standings and to the top of the draft?
Every NHL team is 100 percent committed to winning the Stanley Cup this season and no one could possibly be tanking their season… or so they say. So why this focus on last place? Connor McDavid – who has already been minted as “The Next Great One” in a long line of “Next Great Ones” that have followed Wayne Gretzky, as well as Jack Eichel, a close runner-up.
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Now that we are past the NHL All-Star break and into the month of February, it’s almost certain which teams are going to be in the mix when it is time for the draft lottery. The Edmonton Oilers will not break out of the bottom five of the NHL standings this season. The same goes for the Buffalo Sabres, who really upped their game in January (well, the losing game), but more on that later.
With that overview out of the way, let’s get an update on the race for last by looking at five teams that are currently in the bottom five of the NHL standings and in the best position to end up with the first overall pick in the 2015 NHL Draft.
Teams from last month that have exited the bottom five:
New Jersey Devils (Last Month: 26th This Month: 24th) – The Devils were showing improvement around the time of last months rankings and while I wouldn’t go as far as saying that they are a good team, they are 6-2-2 in their last 10. With the Blue Jackets catching the injury bug again, hopefully the Devils have seen the last of the bottom five. However, with a roster full of aging players, perhaps a high pick would be better for them.
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