Ottawa Senators should hope San Jose’s struggles continue
The Ottawa Senators will be hoping to land the highest possible lottery pick in next year’s draft, but they could find themselves with two.
When the Ottawa Senators sent team captain Erik Karlsson down to the San Jose Sharks, one of the assets they received was a conditional first-round pick in either 2019 or 2020.
The condition attached to the pick was whether or not the Sharks made the playoffs last season, which they did. This meant that the Senators received the Sharks’ pick in 2020, a year stacked with top-end talent that would boost any team in the league.
The Sharks are a team that many believe should be competing for the cup on a yearly basis, but something doesn’t seem to be right so far this season.
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The Sharks have started poorly, falling to an 0-3-0 record while scoring just one goal in each game against divisional rivals the Vegas Golden Knights and Anaheim Ducks.
Conceding nine goals over two games against Vegas and three against the Ducks has been the biggest talking point for fans of the California team, whereas the talking point for fans in the Canadian capital should be – keep this going.
If the Senators bottom-out, they have the best chances of landing the first-overall pick, one that will likely see Alexis Lafreniere selected to give the team a legitimate top-line prospect to play alongside Brady Tkachuk.
If the Sharks miss the playoffs, the Sens have another opportunity to land a lottery pick and, with the Sharks’ disappointing start, it could turn into a high pick if they don’t turn things around.
Yes, only three games have been played so far but the problems are there to see, especially with Martin Jones as their starting goaltender.
The Sharks have also struggled to get some of their stars rolling, with Timo Meier, Tomas Hertl, Marc-Édouard Vlasic and Kevin Labanc all currently point-less in the opening three games.
If the Ottawa Senators go about their business, appearing to care about results while secretly tanking and looking at developing young guys, they will have another shot at a top-three pick.
Alongside that, keeping a keen eye on San Jose’s results may become another interesting factor throughout the season, with the ultimate dream of landing two picks in the top three.
With the Senators also having the Sharks’ sixth-round pick, it could see them jump up in the later round, though that has a significantly lower impact than landing two lottery picks in the first round.
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What do you think Sens fans? Will you keep an eye on how San Jose do this season? Will you be hoping for some favourable results that could have a real impact on the team’s rebuild? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below!