All seven Canadian teams missed the 2016 Stanley Cup playoffs. It was the first time since 1970 that no Canadian teams are playing for Lord Stanley's Cup.
Is it really a surprise that the Toronto Maple Leafs will be selecting first and the Winnipeg Jets second overall at the NHL Draft in Buffalo on June 24?
The Columbus Blue Jackets will select third in the draft.
I fully expect the Jets to select Finnish power winger Patrik Laine and the Blue Jackets to tab Finn sniper Jesse Puljujarvi.
There would have been a bloody mutiny among the NHL suits inside the draft lottery studio in Toronto had three Canadian teams won all three NHL draft lottery positions.
Matthews will provide compelling content forall of the digital and on air platforms of Sportsnet and TSN. Matthews in the East, McDavid in the West.
Ratings will soar, page views will increase. Advertisers will rejoice when their media campaigns grade out as successes in the post analyses.
Matthews in Toronto can't be bad for hockey related revenue that the players and owners split 50/50. The Matthews factor can help to off set the loss of HRR that has been impacted by the failing Canadian dollar.
Will the Leafs invest their first overall pick in center Auston Matthews?
Or, will the Leafs trade the first overall pick to Arizona for Oliver Ekman-Larsson, Max Domi, and a whack of assets?
These next 11 weeks will be very, very interesting indeed.
Matthews, the 6'1", 210 lb. center is a native of Scottsdale, Arizona and is ranked #1 on the NHL Central Scouting's final ranking of international skaters eligible for the draft.
Matthews sounded like he had mixed emotions after the draft lottery ended.
Brendan Shanahan had the line of the night when he said that his team "worked hard" for their first overall pick. Tanking is such hard work, Shanny. You, Babs, the players and coaches must be exhausted right now.
"It's still the draft and there's a lot of things that have to happen after the draft where you've got to put a player in a good position and give him every opportunity to succeed. We don't want to get ahead of ourselves and put the cart ahead of the horse here," Shanahan said. "We knew we were going to get a good player 1 through 4. Having the ability to pick first, obviously, we're going to pick whoever we think is the best."
The last time the Maple Leafs selected first overall was in the 1985 when they grabbed power winger Wendel Clark.
The Leafs will have their options with the first overall pick now. Now that the draft lottery is done and all teams know their draft positions, let the NHL silly season begin.
Winnipeg jumped up from sixth to second, while the Blue Jackets moved from fourth to third. The Edmonton Oilers fell from second to fourth.
Three lottery pulls were conducted:
The first lottery determined the team selecting first, the second drawing determined the team selecting second, and the third drawing determined the team selecting third.
Laine (6'4" and 210 lbs.), #2 on NHL Central Scouting's final ranking of international skaters, had 17 goals and 33 points in 46 games. He was named MVP of the Liiga playoffs. He scored 10 goals and 15 points in 18 games for Finnish Elite League champion Tappara.
Puljujarvi (6'4" and 205 lbs.), #3 on NHL Central Scouting's final international ranking, led all skaters at the 2016 IIHF World Junior Championship with 17 points and was named the best forward and most valuable player of the tournament. He had 13 goals and 28 points in 50 games for Karpat. .
Top 10 2016 NHL Draft Order :
1. Toronto Maple Leafs
2. Winnipeg Jets
3. Columbus Blue Jackets
4. Edmonton Oilers
5. Vancouver Canucks
6. Calgary Flames
7. Arizona Coyotes
8. Buffalo Sabres
9. Montreal Canadiens
10. Colorado Avalanche
11. New Jersey Devils
12. Ottawa Senators
13. Carolina Hurricanes
14. Boston Bruins
****
The last time the Buffalo Sabres drafted 8th overall was 2013 when they selected Finnish D Rasmus Ristolainen.
***