BC Business
We tried, and failed, to be subjective.
If you’re even a moderately invested hockey fan, you likely know what’s at stake this year in the NHL. Yes, of course, there’s a chance at a Stanley Cup for a contending team, as always. But for the teams near the bottom of the table, there’s a much rarer prize on the horizon.
Connor Bedard is a so-called “generational player” currently plying his trade for the Regina Pats of the Western Hockey League. He has 90 points in 36 games. Yes, seriously. He tore up the World Juniors. He’s the highest ranked prospect since Connor McDavid came into the league in 2015. McDavid is, of course, universally regarded as the best player in the NHL. Whichever team wins the NHL’s draft lottery is getting a surefire star.
Oh, and did we mention he’s from North Vancouver and grew up a massive Canucks fan?
This seems like it would be the perfect time for the Canucks to capitalize on years of mediocrity and fully bottom out. Only one problem: Vancouver actually tried to make the playoffs this year while other teams were fully intent on tanking the season (despite what Gary Bettman might have you believe). So, while the Canucks now seem to be taking the express route to the bottom of the standings after trading captain Bo Horvat, it might be, in the immortal words of JoJo, too little, too late.
Of course, the NHL’s draft lottery doesn’t mean that the lowest team in the standings gets first pick, it just means those with the worst records get the best odds. Yes, there’s still a chance for the Canucks, as teams can move up as many as 10 spots.
Since this is a business publication, we thought we’d rank the NHL squads most likely to be in the race for Bedard that need him most, not in terms of their actual rosters—though that may be factored in at times—but from a business perspective.
For the exercise, we took the bottom 11 teams in terms of points. Let’s do it.
11. Chicago Blackhawks
Where they currently rank in standings (out of 32 teams): 31 Where they currently rank in attendance: 22
We knew bias was going to be factored in here somewhere, and it turns out it didn’t take long! The Blackhawks have an absolutely pitiful roster which they’ve constructed on purpose to be horrible this year. They’re likely going to at least try and trade franchise legends Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews, plus first-liner Max Domi, at the deadline to get even worse
The once-proud team has also lost a lot of the shine from three Cups in the span of six years, thanks to the horrendous handling of a sexual assault case.
So yeah, in those regards, the team could really use some good news, as it looks like being a garbage pit of a franchise is catching up with it at the box office, too. But you know what? Screw the Blackhawks. This team getting Connor Bedard would just prove that the worst guys finish first. We don’t need another Blackhawks dynasty.
10. St. Louis Blues
Where they currently rank in standings: 25 Where they currently rank in attendance: 11
The Blues are an interesting study: a perennially good team that finally broke through with a Cup win a few years ago. Unfortunately, that Cup win (along with strong attendance numbers) is exactly why they’re not getting any sympathy here, even as they go through what seems like a long-term retool, if not a tear-it-down rebuild.
Generally speaking, if you’ve won a Cup in the last decade or so, you’re probably doing just fine business-wise. And no one should feel sorry for you.
The Blues were a playoff team last year but have started out slow and If they deal Vladimir Tarasenko and/or Ryan O’Reilly at the deadline, it could get very bad, very quick.
Montreal Canadiens on Twitter
9. Montreal Canadiens
Where they currently rank in standings: 26 Where they currently rank in attendance: 1
This one is a little tough. The Habs, despite going to the Cup Final in 2020, are not very good. The team has been tearing it down since that Cup run, and was awarded the first pick in last year’s draft. So while it might be fun for Bedard to get to play for arguably the league’s most hockey-crazy team (and he would go a long way towards making them actually decent again), the Habs really don’t need him.
Come on, check those attendance numbers. The league’s largest rink is essentially a sellout every night, it doesn’t matter who’s playing. It would be very cool to see Bedard in the blanc, bleu et rouge, and it would likely do wonders for Canadian hockey TV ratings. But do they need Bedard? On the ice, absolutely. Off it? Non.
8. Detroit Red Wings
Where they currently rank in standings: 24 Where they currently rank in attendance: 3
Ah, Detroit. It took too long to get here, but for anyone who was a hockey fan in the mid-‘90s (or late ‘90s, or early ‘00s or late ‘00s), seeing Detroit get Bedard would be infuriating. This is a franchise that dominated for years, and is still printing money because of that excellence.
If the Red Wings are really sad for another 20 years, then sure, give them a can’t-miss prospect. But if general manager Steve Yzerman is such a genius, let him find his own way out of this one. The fans are probably getting a little impatient right now, but it hasn’t shown at the box office yet.
7. Philadelphia Flyers
Where they currently rank in standings: 23 Where they currently rank in attendance: 20
The Flyers were slated to be one of the very worst teams in the league heading into this season. To the surprise of many, they’ve been reasonably competitive. They’re still not very good, and could undoubtedly use Bedard as the prospect cupboard is bare from years of trying to contend with a roster that wasn’t there.
They definitely need some hope in the pipeline, but considering Philadelphia is one of the more traditional hockey markets left on the list (and are doing alright at the box office), we can’t rank them any higher than this.
6. Ottawa Senators
Where they currently rank in standings: 22 Where they currently rank in attendance: 26
If Eugene Melnyk was still alive, the Sens would be higher on this list. But the team is actually turning things around a little bit here and is chock full of young stars ready to carry this club into the next generation.
The hype around new ownership (Ryan Reynolds???) is helping, and you’d have to think that the new group of owners will have the sense to move the team from the depths of Kanata into Ottawa’s downtown core. Already, attendance is better than it was in the last few years before the pandemic (not saying a ton, but still).
Vancouver Canucks on Twitter
5. Vancouver Canucks
Where they currently rank in standings: 27 Where they currently rank in attendance: 6
You were waiting for it, and here it is.
We can’t really rank the Canucks any higher than this. All the teams left on the list are in the bottom eight in terms of attendance, and the Canucks—despite chants of “Sell The Team” at Rogers Arena and a new controversy seemingly dropping every week—are sitting pretty at sixth in attendance league-wide.
That might seem pretty hard to believe for Canucks fans, many of whom are long past the stage of apathy. But it’s going to take more than a few tough years (and fans not showing up in droves) to actually force a change in ownership. It’s possible that Vancouver is just too hockey-crazy a market to rank higher than this, even if things feel fairly dire right now. We’ll see how the rest of the non-Horvat season plays out, but there are definitely teams in worse situations (at least financially) than the Canucks.
4. Columbus Blue Jackets
Where they currently rank in standings: 32 Where they currently rank in attendance: 25
This year was supposed to be a big one for Columbus. After seemingly coming out of nowhere to lure the league’s biggest free agent in Johnny Gaudreau, the Blue Jackets seemed primed to have at the very least an exciting year. It hasn’t happened. Injuries have decimated the team and Columbus currently sits dead last in the standings.
This is a team that really hasn’t had much in the way of success since joining the league more than 20 years ago. Some optimism is needed here and, if we’re being honest, Bedard between Gaudreau and Patrik Laine does sound pretty fun.
EA Sports
3. Anaheim Ducks
Where they currently rank in standings: 30 Where they currently rank in attendance: 27
The future isn’t actually that dim for the Ducks, who have some promising young stars. But right now? It’s not great. The team is a league-worst minus-80 in goal differential, which is pretty gross. And while defence is the main concern right now, Bedard would be pretty fun alongside NHL 23 cover boy Trevor Zegras in California.
2. San Jose Sharks
Where they currently rank in standings: 28 Where they currently rank in attendance: 31
After years of success that unfortunately never ultimately yielded a Stanley Cup, the Sharks are very much paying for a decade and a half of mortgaging the future. The pipeline isn’t deep in San Jose, and some ugly long-term contracts are anchoring the team deep in the weeds. It might even get worse if the Sharks trade Timo Meier, though they should get some young pieces back.
San Jose could really use Bedard to help boost attendance in California, where it sure does seem like you get forgotten about the second you drop down the standings. It will likely be more than a few years of pain in San Jose, so Bedard might prevent the franchise from bottoming out completely.
Arizona Coyotes on Twitter
1. Arizona Coyotes
Where they currently rank in standings: 29 Where they currently rank in attendance: 32 (with a bullet)
Could it ever be anyone else? It almost feels unfair to say the Coyotes are merely last in league attendance. Arizona has spent this year playing in a literal university rink with a capacity of around 5,000. Going back to college has never been sadder since Asher Roth’s reunion tour. But even if the Coyotes were playing in their old arena, they’d still likely be last, the market has just never been there for the team.
The club has some promising young stars like Clayton Keller, Dylan Guenther and Logan Cooley, but they could really use some long-term stability. Does anyone else in the league want Connor Bedard to play in a 5,000-seat venue for the first few years of his career? Outside of Gary Bettman, probably not.
If the ping pong balls go the Coyotes’ way later this year, you can bet there’ll be scores of fans that claim the league is rigged. But really, they do need it the most. Or, you know, just move them to Quebec.