SpikedLemonade
12-05-2014, 09:48 AM
The NHL’s Great Connor McDavid Sweepstakes
One of the running themes of the season has been the eventual destination of Connor McDavid. As the first sure-thing franchise player the league has welcomed since Sidney Crosby, McDavid has earned plenty of attention toward the bottom of the standings, and that will only intensify as the season goes on.1 (http://grantland.com/the-triangle/the-nhls-great-connor-mcdavid-sweepstakes/#fn-1)
But today, let’s forget about who will get McDavid, since we won’t actually know that for several months. Let’s talk about who should get him. After all, we can fight about that right now!.....
....3. Buffalo Sabres
Let’s get this out of the way first: Yes, the Sabres organization sure seemed to be tanking for McDavid. They weren’t even especially subtle about it, assembling a team that’s just about as bad as one can be in the salary-floor era, and the goal sure seems to be finishing last by a mile for a second straight year. That’s shady, nobody should support it, and it’s why they can’t be in the top spot just on principle.
All of that said, there are plenty of positives, starting with the fact that they haven’t been all that bad recently. Buffalo isn’t a big market, but it’s a great hockey town, and it’s certainly about time the city’s sports fans had some something to cheer about. The Sabres have stockpiled a ton of draft picks and prospects, and Tim Murray is one of the best young GMs in the game, so he could probably flush out all the tanking stench fairly quickly and surround McDavid with an actual team.
Also, we probably all still owe them for this (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4_URO6cwLbM). As long as they agree to stop screwing around with the uniforms, the tanking Sabres would be a grudgingly acceptable pick.
2. Dallas Stars
The Stars haven’t had a first overall pick since moving to Dallas.5 (http://grantland.com/the-triangle/the-nhls-great-connor-mcdavid-sweepstakes/#fn-5) They weren’t supposed to be in the running for one this year either, with most experts picking them as a potential breakthrough team after back-to-back offseasons spent loading up offensively.
Instead, they’ve been one of the season’s biggest disappointments, thanks largely to shoddy goaltending and a weak blue line. But while they may not be very good, they’re still an awful lot of fun to watch. The Stars are never going to be the Cowboys, but Dallas is a big market the NHL would probably love to have a larger chunk of, and the fan base is reasonably strong.
Drop McDavid into the mix alongside Tyler Seguin, Jamie Benn, and friends and every Stars game would instantly become must-see viewing. Sure, they might lose 8-7, but you’d be watching.
1. Columbus Blue Jackets
Huh. No, this isn’t where I thought we’d wind up either, but hear me out …
First of all, the Blue Jackets are terrible this year, so they’ve got a great shot at winning the pick. But there’s still enough talent here that they’re not a total lost cause — it’s easy to forget right now, but they were a playoff team last year. And while the market isn’t great, it’s not as bad as you probably think it is, and has never really had anything to cheer about. Think of it this way: Have you ever encountered an unlikable Blue Jackets fan? I’m not sure they exist.
More importantly, from a karma perspective, there’s no team that deserves a break more than the Blue Jackets. Their season has basically been derailed by an almost ridiculous string of injuries. They’ve had one no. 1 pick in franchise history, Rick Nash, who bailed on them a few years ago and forced a trade to the Rangers. They were bumped out of the top spot in 2012 after the Oilers won the lottery, then used the second pick on a guy who almost immediately blew out his shoulder (http://bluejacketsxtra.dispatch.com/content/stories/2012/11/28/murrays-season-ends-with-surgery.html) and missed the season. And no team has had less postseason success since Columbus came into the league; it hadn’t even won a playoff game until last year.
If the Blue Jackets landed McDavid and emerged as a contender, it would finally give the franchise a chance to thrive, not to mention giving the Metro a new set of rivalries to break up the never-ending Penguins/Rangers/Flyers trifecta that the league is constantly pushing. He’d make them a good team, but not so good that they’d be a risk to steamroll the rest of the league. And he might even be the guy to bring the long-suffering fans in the state of Ohio their first pro sports championship since the 1990 Reds.
And if none of that convinces you … well, just think how good McDavid would look winning the Cup in a Kings uniform in a few years.
http://grantland.com/the-triangle/the-nhls-great-connor-mcdavid-sweepstakes/
One of the running themes of the season has been the eventual destination of Connor McDavid. As the first sure-thing franchise player the league has welcomed since Sidney Crosby, McDavid has earned plenty of attention toward the bottom of the standings, and that will only intensify as the season goes on.1 (http://grantland.com/the-triangle/the-nhls-great-connor-mcdavid-sweepstakes/#fn-1)
But today, let’s forget about who will get McDavid, since we won’t actually know that for several months. Let’s talk about who should get him. After all, we can fight about that right now!.....
....3. Buffalo Sabres
Let’s get this out of the way first: Yes, the Sabres organization sure seemed to be tanking for McDavid. They weren’t even especially subtle about it, assembling a team that’s just about as bad as one can be in the salary-floor era, and the goal sure seems to be finishing last by a mile for a second straight year. That’s shady, nobody should support it, and it’s why they can’t be in the top spot just on principle.
All of that said, there are plenty of positives, starting with the fact that they haven’t been all that bad recently. Buffalo isn’t a big market, but it’s a great hockey town, and it’s certainly about time the city’s sports fans had some something to cheer about. The Sabres have stockpiled a ton of draft picks and prospects, and Tim Murray is one of the best young GMs in the game, so he could probably flush out all the tanking stench fairly quickly and surround McDavid with an actual team.
Also, we probably all still owe them for this (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4_URO6cwLbM). As long as they agree to stop screwing around with the uniforms, the tanking Sabres would be a grudgingly acceptable pick.
2. Dallas Stars
The Stars haven’t had a first overall pick since moving to Dallas.5 (http://grantland.com/the-triangle/the-nhls-great-connor-mcdavid-sweepstakes/#fn-5) They weren’t supposed to be in the running for one this year either, with most experts picking them as a potential breakthrough team after back-to-back offseasons spent loading up offensively.
Instead, they’ve been one of the season’s biggest disappointments, thanks largely to shoddy goaltending and a weak blue line. But while they may not be very good, they’re still an awful lot of fun to watch. The Stars are never going to be the Cowboys, but Dallas is a big market the NHL would probably love to have a larger chunk of, and the fan base is reasonably strong.
Drop McDavid into the mix alongside Tyler Seguin, Jamie Benn, and friends and every Stars game would instantly become must-see viewing. Sure, they might lose 8-7, but you’d be watching.
1. Columbus Blue Jackets
Huh. No, this isn’t where I thought we’d wind up either, but hear me out …
First of all, the Blue Jackets are terrible this year, so they’ve got a great shot at winning the pick. But there’s still enough talent here that they’re not a total lost cause — it’s easy to forget right now, but they were a playoff team last year. And while the market isn’t great, it’s not as bad as you probably think it is, and has never really had anything to cheer about. Think of it this way: Have you ever encountered an unlikable Blue Jackets fan? I’m not sure they exist.
More importantly, from a karma perspective, there’s no team that deserves a break more than the Blue Jackets. Their season has basically been derailed by an almost ridiculous string of injuries. They’ve had one no. 1 pick in franchise history, Rick Nash, who bailed on them a few years ago and forced a trade to the Rangers. They were bumped out of the top spot in 2012 after the Oilers won the lottery, then used the second pick on a guy who almost immediately blew out his shoulder (http://bluejacketsxtra.dispatch.com/content/stories/2012/11/28/murrays-season-ends-with-surgery.html) and missed the season. And no team has had less postseason success since Columbus came into the league; it hadn’t even won a playoff game until last year.
If the Blue Jackets landed McDavid and emerged as a contender, it would finally give the franchise a chance to thrive, not to mention giving the Metro a new set of rivalries to break up the never-ending Penguins/Rangers/Flyers trifecta that the league is constantly pushing. He’d make them a good team, but not so good that they’d be a risk to steamroll the rest of the league. And he might even be the guy to bring the long-suffering fans in the state of Ohio their first pro sports championship since the 1990 Reds.
And if none of that convinces you … well, just think how good McDavid would look winning the Cup in a Kings uniform in a few years.
http://grantland.com/the-triangle/the-nhls-great-connor-mcdavid-sweepstakes/