NHL Reverse Power Rankings: March 29, 2024
With most teams having just 9 or 10 games left in the season, it all comes down to this.
The chase for Macklin Celebrini is almost over, but based on what we know about the NHL's draft lottery, anything can happen. San Jose, much like Chicago last year, seemed to set themselves up to land the "hometown" boy Celebrini. Chicago planned on landing Connor Bedard, with a little "luck" from the lottery balls, and almost completely stripping down the team. And since San Jose wants Celebrini so badly, they have seemingly done the same thing by trading some guys and ensuring that they lose enough games to get the best odds. We shall see.
It's getting frustrating for teams like the Blue Jackets. One only has to watch the video below to hear it in their voice. They want this season to be over as soon as possible. The CBJ have nine games left.
Let's look at the Reverse Power Rankings for March 29, 2024, and who they could draft.
- San Jose Sharks - 72gp; 40 points - Macklin Celebrini, C, Boston University - 61 points in 36 games.
- Chicago Blackhawks - 73gp; 47 points - Ivan Demidov, RW/C, St. Petersburg (MHL) - 60 points in 30 games.
- Anaheim Ducks - 73gp; 52 points - Artyom Levshunov, D, Michigan State - 34 points in 36 games.
- Columbus Blue Jackets - 73gp; 58 points - Anton Silayev, D, Torpedo (KHL) - 11 points in 63 games.
- Arizona Coyotes - 73gp; 67 points - Carter Yakemchuk, D, Calgary Hitmen (WHL) - 71 points in 66 games.
The rest of the Reverse Top 10 is as follows:
6. Montréal Canadiens - 68 points - Won 3
7. Ottawa Senators - 68 points - Won 4
8. Calgary Flames - 71 points - Lost 5
9. Buffalo Sabres - 73 points - Lost 1
10. Seattle Kraken - 73 points - Won 2
The Top 4 teams seem to be poised to finish where they are currently. From a Columbus Blue Jackets point of view, they have one of the hardest, if not the hardest remaining schedule of any team in the league. They should finish Top 4, and can maybe even snag the third spot if the Ducks can win a few more games. With teams 5-7 currently, on winning streaks, I don't see any reason why any of those teams will fall backward
What's Next - The Jackets are finally home again and will face the Pittsburgh Penguins on Saturday night.
More From THN Columbus
Join Jason Newland's Columbus Blue Jacket page on Bunches, a new app that connects sports fans. Also, you can watch a new YouTube game show about the Blue Jackets, Around the Fifth Line.