NHL Draft 2023 : What If The NHL Draft Lottery Didn't Exist?

It got me thinking, what if the NHL got rid of or never had the Draft Lottery. Meaning the last team in the league every year was awarded the 1st Overall, and second last was given 2nd, and so on.

If the NHL never had the Draft Lottery, the league would look a lot different.

There would obviously have to be a cap in place for this time of thing, so teams couldn't tank and abuse it. Like only being able to pick 1st, for 2-3 years straight.

If the league didn't have the Lottery, there would be no more conspiracy and wonder about how the current Lottery is run.

The most notable NHL Draft for Flyers fans, is the 2007 Draft. Where the Blackhawks, beat out the dead last Flyers, in the Lottery. In order to take Patrick Kane. Who would bring the Blackhawks to 3 Stanley Cup within a decade.

It is wild to think about how different some teams would or could be, as a lot of superstars would be somewhere completely different.

Alex Ovechkin, would have gone to a rival in the Pittsburgh Penguins, and played along side Sidney Crosby in 2004.

Jack Hughes, would be along side Clause Giroux and Alex DeBrincat, in Ottawa. Instead of the New Jersey Devils, who somehow won the Lottery in 2019.

In 2014, Aaron Ekblad would have been picked up by the Buffalo Sabres, as well Instead of Connor McDavid, lighting it up in Alberta. He would have been drafted by the Buffalo Sabres in 2015. Which would make the Sabres a completely different beast, especially with their current roster.

One of the most important ones is, Nathan MacKinnon, who helped the Colorado Avalanche hoist the Stanley Cup in 2022. Which would never happen without the Lottery, as he would have been picked up by the Florida Panthers in 2013.

Of course this is also just for fun and a big what if unfortunately, but it is still interesting to look at how different things may have been. Especially for the Philadelphia Flyers, during the 2010-2015 era.