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Ottawa Senators: Who to Cheer for in the Draft Lottery

By Jack Baines

HAMILTON, ON - JANUARY 16: Alexis Lafreniere #11 of Team White skates during the 2020 CHL/NHL Top Prospects Game against Team Red at FirstOntario Centre on January 16, 2020 in Hamilton, Canada. (Photo by Vaughn Ridley/Getty Images)
HAMILTON, ON - JANUARY 16: Alexis Lafreniere #11 of Team White skates during the 2020 CHL/NHL Top Prospects Game against Team Red at FirstOntario Centre on January 16, 2020 in Hamilton, Canada. (Photo by Vaughn Ridley/Getty Images) /
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TORONTO, ONTARIO – AUGUST 03: Jason Zucker #16 of the Pittsburgh Penguins shoots the puck past Carey Price #31 of the Montreal Canadiens for a third period goal in Game Two of the Eastern Conference Qualification Round prior to the 2020 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs at Scotiabank Arena on August 03, 2020 in Toronto, Ontario. (Photo by Andre Ringuette/Freestyle Photo/Getty Images)
TORONTO, ONTARIO – AUGUST 03: Jason Zucker #16 of the Pittsburgh Penguins shoots the puck past Carey Price #31 of the Montreal Canadiens for a third period goal in Game Two of the Eastern Conference Qualification Round prior to the 2020 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs at Scotiabank Arena on August 03, 2020 in Toronto, Ontario. (Photo by Andre Ringuette/Freestyle Photo/Getty Images) /

15. Montreal Canadiens

This is the worst-case scenario. While Montreal isn’t good, they’re better than Ottawa right now as they managed to grab the last play-in spot this season. Their future outlook may even be better too, as The Athletic’s Scott Wheeler ranked their prospect pool second in the league, while Ottawa was down at seventh. They also have 14 picks in the upcoming draft, compared to Ottawa’s 13. While Ottawa’s rebuild seems to be going well, Montreal’s seems to be going even better, adding Lafrenière to the mix would leave Ottawa with a lot of work to do to keep pace.

The Sens and Habs rivalry would make this a particularly painful result, and unlike Toronto I don’t see Montreal struggling with Lafrenière as a particularly hilarious experience. Montreal getting the first overall pick would give Ottawa a division rival who would at the very least be their equal, and while that could make for some fun series down the line, I don’t particularly like Ottawa’s outlook in those.

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