The St. Louis Blues now own multiple lottery picks following the Detroit Red Wings’ elimination from the NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs.
The St. Louis Blues may have come up short in their attempt to make the playoffs and have also worsened their odds of landing the first overall pick in the process, but a wise trade by GM Doug Armstrong may have salvaged it.
For a large part of the season, the Blues sat within the bottom three of the NHL standings, giving them strong odds of landing a top-three pick, which could have added any of Gavin McKenna, Ivar Stenberg or several young defensemen to a prospect pool that is already thriving.
The Blues pool does lack a franchise-altering player, and when the Blues were struggling, the hope was that they would finish towards the bottom of the standings and get that player.
Fast forward to April 13, and the Blues have three games remaining on the schedule and are more likely than not to finish between 23rd and 27th in the NHL, giving them a top-10 pick if the lottery goes their way. As it stands, they sit in 25th place in the NHL.
An eighth overall pick is very good, and it could give them a high-end, skilled player, but that player likely won’t reach the level of McKenna or Stenberg. While that might feel like a letdown, the Blues acquired another first-round pick this season from the Detroit Red Wings, who will also be a lottery pick after being eliminated from playoff contention.
The Blues acquired the pick in the deal that sent Justin Faulk to Detroit. Faulk hasn’t had an easy time on a Red Wings team that plummeted out of a playoff spot. When the Red Wings acquired Faulk, they sat in third place in the Atlantic Division with 77 points.
Now, they are up to just 91 points, sitting in 14th place in the NHL. But because of the NHL’s playoff format, they are 15th in the NHL draft lottery. The new lottery format means the Red Wings can move up at most 10 spots, so if nothing changes, the Blues could land either the 15th pick or the fifth overall pick from the Red Wings.
Although there could be an argument that one of the top three picks is better than two top 15 picks, the Blues can add to their already impressive prospect depth.
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