The NHL is so often focused, for good reason, on the races at the top of the standings, but the NHL Sour Rankings looks at the bottom.
With the regular season complete, we now have the final standings and can examine their NHL draft lottery odds and what they might do moving forward.
San Jose Sharks, 20-50-12
Lottery odds: 18.5 percent
First-overall odds: 25.5 percent
The Sharks finished last in the NHL for a second straight year, which means they have the best odds for first overall once again. They won the first-overall pick last year, taking likely Calder Trophy finalist Macklin Celebrini, giving them a top-line center for the next decade and more.
The vibes were high this year despite their unfortunate results, and that can be attributed to the success of the rookies, the fun that the team had on and off the ice and an understanding that they weren’t expected to be great this year.
If they get another top pick, blueliner Matthew Schaefer seems like the obvious choice for San Jose. He would give them a defender to build around and slot other prospects, such as Sam Dickinson and Luca Cagnoni, into spots that better fit their skill set.
Chicago Blackhawks, 25-46-11
Lottery and first-overall odds: 13.5 percent
While the vibes were high in San Jose, the opposite was true for Chicago.
Connor Bedard had 67 points this season, six more than his rookie year, but his points per game were down from 0.9 to 0.82. Frank Nazar looked good when he got into the lineup, and Artyom Levshunov had some bright moments when he got to the NHL.
Chicago’s issue is it had so many injuries and plenty of underwhelming performances from the veterans. They just didn’t take the step they were expecting to take this year. You could see the frustration on the faces of players on a nightly basis, and the team was just down in the dumps from October to April.
If they get the first-overall pick, pairing Michael Misa with Bedard would give them a one-two punch down the middle that opposing teams would envy, but they still need to surround them with steadying vets, something they were unable to do last summer.
Nashville Predators, 30-44-8
Lottery and first-overall odds: 11.5 percent
No matter how many times…