Fansided

Pour one out for Red Wings fans after the NHL Draft Lottery

By Matt Verderame

DETROIT, MI - FEBRUARY 1: Robby Fabbri #14 of the Detroit Red Wings stretches during warm-ups prior to his 200th career NHL game against the New York Rangers at Little Caesars Arena on February 1, 2020 in Detroit, Michigan. (Photo by Dave Sandford/NHLI via Getty Images)
DETROIT, MI - FEBRUARY 1: Robby Fabbri #14 of the Detroit Red Wings stretches during warm-ups prior to his 200th career NHL game against the New York Rangers at Little Caesars Arena on February 1, 2020 in Detroit, Michigan. (Photo by Dave Sandford/NHLI via Getty Images) /
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The Detroit Red Wings were the worst team by a mile in the NHL this season. Somehow, they got the No. 4 pick in the 2020 Draft.

Imagine you’re a Detroit Red Wings. You just suffered through a brutal campaign where the team notched 39 points over 70 games. It’s the worst mark of any team playing at least 70 games since 1994.

However, a silver lining. Your team is so comically horrendous, you have the best odds of nabbing the No. 1 overall pick in then 2020 NHL Draft. You sit down for Friday night’s Draft Lottery, ready to finally celebrate one good thing. Then, this:

The Detroit Red Wings got ROBBED in the NHL Draft Lottery

If you haven’t burned through all your liquor yet during the COVID-19 pandemic, now’s a great time to open up the cabinet and just go for broke. The Red Wings are not only moving down the board, they are moving all the way to No. 4. This should be some sort of a crime by the Hockey Gods.

The Red Wings are sitting behind the OttawaSenators (No. 3), Los Angeles Kings and then some unnamed team (No. 1) who IS IN THE PLAYOFFS. This is the greatest indignity hockey has suffered since Gary Bettman was named commissioner way back when. A travesty of the highest order.

And yet there is nothing Detroit can do. The fans have to accept the player they’re getting is going to be more of a prospect than sure-thing, and hope the organization can develop him into a top-flight player.

On the bright side? This happens all the time. Last year, the New Jersey Devils lucked into the top pick, took 18-year-old center Jack Hughes, talked about him breathlessly the whole summer, and then watched him notch 21 points (7 goals, 14 assists) in 61 games. Ugh.

Still, this burns more than the whiskey most Wings fans are going to be consuming. Sitting through the worst season in franchise history is already miserable enough, and this gut-punch is the final cherry on top of a sour sundae.

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