The NHL's worst teams have had a season to forget – unless they win the draft lottery and the right to select Macklin Celebrini. Here's what he would add to the bottom 11 squads.

Three teams have already been mathematically eliminated from playoff contention with less than a month to go in the NHL season. They're the leaders of this month's NHL sour rankings.

The Chicago Blackhawks, San Jose Sharks and Anaheim Ducks have all had futile seasons. San Jose likely won’t even reach 50 points in the year.

Although the top prize in the NHL draft isn’t on the level of Connor Bedard, this year's lottery winner will get a massive boost in hopes of turning things around. 

Macklin Celebrini, the projected No. 1 overall pick, has been one of the best players in the NCAA and recently became the youngest player to be named a Hobey Baker finalist as college hockey’s top player.

With the playoff picture emerging, the NHL draft lottery is right around the corner. The teams hoping to hear their name called as the winners of the No. 1 pick have surely already begun to imagine what Celebrini would mean to their team and how he would fit. 

Let’s look at the basement dwellers and how Celebrini might fit in.

San Jose Sharks, 16-45-7, 39 points, .283 P%

The San Jose Sharks just traded their top-line center, Tomas Hertl, so Celebrini coming in and taking that role over almost immediately would give the team hope for the future. 

Celerbini’s father works for the Golden State Warriors, so it would be a great fit from a family perspective as well for Celebrini. He would be the centerpiece of the next generation in San Jose and help usher in a new wave of Sharks hockey.

Chicago Blackhawks, 19-46-5, 43 points, .307 P%

With Bedard already taking the top-line center role for the next 10-plus years in Chicago, he and Celebrini could form a legitimate one-two punch down the middle that most NHL teams would envy. Bedard would insulate Celebrini, and Celebrini would take some of the pressure off of Bedard. It would truly be a mutually beneficial relationship.

Anaheim Ducks, 24-43-3, 51 points, .364 P%

Celebrini arriving in Anaheim would give the Ducks a wonderful problem. 

Mason McTavish and Leo Carlsson comfortably took the reigns as the top two centers and fellow Hobey Baker finalist Cutter Gauthier is set to join the fold at the end of the year. 

Where would Celebrini fit down the middle? Luckily, the answer is “who cares?” The Ducks would have four legitimate centers in their top six. If that means McTavish and Gauthier wind up as wingers or Celebrini isn’t forced into action down the middle immediately, then it only means good things for the Ducks.

Columbus Blue Jackets, 23-34-12, 58 points, .420 P%

The Blue Jackets adding one potential Hobey Baker winner in Celebrini after drafting the previous winner, Adam Fantilli, the year before would give Columbus an unprecedented center duo. 

Fantilli already has the potential to be the best center in franchise history, and Celebrini would be a very good candidate for No. 2. Having both simultaneously would make Columbus a legit contender sooner rather than later.

Ottawa Senators, 28-36-4, 60 points, 441 P%

Norris is perennially hurt, Stutzle might be better off as a winger, and Ridly Greig and Shane Pinto are better bets as middle-six centers. Celebrini would give the Sens a true No. 1 center. 

The Senators have been trying to exit a rebuild for a couple of years now. They could certainly use a player who helps slot the rest of their lineup a bit more appropriately. Celebrini would help do that.

Arizona Coyotes, 28-36-5, 61 points, .442 P%

Logan Cooley has been up-and-down as a rookie, and Barrett Hayton might be better suited down the lineup. Celebrini would ease the load on both of them while bringing some star power to the Coyotes as they get set for the next phase of their franchise’s history, no matter what arena or location they're in.

Montreal Canadiens, 25-32-12, 62 points, .449 P%

Is Nick Suzuki a true No. 1 center? That question becomes a little less important when you have a 1A and 1B situation if Celebrini slots into the lineup. 

Suzuki has proven to be a high-end do-it-all center who can find success at both ends of the ice, which would allow Celerbini to grow into being a more well-rounded center and impact the game offensively as he’s done at every level he’s been at for years.

Seattle Kraken, 28-28-12, 68 points, .500 P%

The Kraken are still a new franchise. Although Matty Beniers has come in and done an admirable job as the No. 1 center, his sophomore slump has shown it isn’t easy to be “The Man” in the NHL. 

Having Celebrini in town would relieve some of Beniers' burden. It would also allow Shane Wright, the fourth overall pick in the 2022 NHL draft, to settle into an NHL role with far less pressure. The young trio of centers would all be drafted within four years of each other, and they could form the core moving forward. 

Buffalo Sabres, 33-33-5, 71 points, .500 P%

The Sabres were supposed to take the step this year and they flat – again. They’ve been good as of late, which could take them even further out of the Celebrini sweepstakes. But if they wind up winning the lottery, they would add Celebrini to an already strong, young center core that features Tage Thompson, Dylan Cozens and Peyton Krebs. Celebrini may end up being the best of the bunch, but that would be wicked depth down the middle.

Pittsburgh Penguins, 30-29-9, 69 points, .507 P%

It would be poetic. Sidney Crosby was drafted to usher in a new generation of Pittsburgh Penguins hockey at the tail end of Mario Lemieux’s career. If Pittsburgh were to add Celebrini, it would allow Sid the Kid to play the role that Super Mario once played. Maybe Celebrini could even live in Crosby’s basement for a year or two.

New Jersey Devils, 34-32-4, 72 points, .514 P%

New Jersey doesn’t need help outside of finding a long-term solution in net. But if they were to get lucky and add Celebrini, they could bring him along slowly, with Jack Hughes and Nico Hischier occupying the top two center spots. They would eventually have the potential to form the best trio of centers in the league. No matter how many high-end centers they have, though, they still need to find a capable, NHL-level netminder, or it won’t matter.