The NHL's draft lottery yesterday was anti-climactic, with the San Jose Sharks winning the first overall selection, and the Chicago Blackhawks winning the second overall pick – exactly where they were slotted before the lottery. That means no teams changed position, not even Detroit, who always seems to find a way to drop.

The @SanJoseSharks actually won the 1st three draft lottery draws. The @NHLBlackhawks won the 4th drawing for the second overall pick.

First time in NHL Draft Lottery history they had one redraw, let alone two.

— Greg Wyshynski (@wyshynski) May 7, 2024

It's too bad the rules are airtight, otherwise we could have had San Jose win the first three picks. In some alternate universe where San Jose actually gets the first three selections, I wonder if that just pushes Chicago and Anaheim back, or replaces them on the board entirely.

Making the (seemingly safe) assumption that the Sharks do take Macklin Celebrini, then they are getting a player that reportedly has upside similar to Nathan MacKinnon or Jack Hughes. Celebrini may be close to NHL ready, but it doesn't mean he's going to be a super fantasy asset right away. On top of that, there is a very real possibility that he returns to college for one more season. He's still the top pick in the draft, but while you can appreciate the upside, try to manage the expectations as well.

*

On top of the draft lottery, the Blackhawks had some other news yesterday, inking Lukas Reichel to a two-year deal with an AAV of $1.2 million. The two-year deal expires with Reichel still an RFA, and gives both the team and player a chance to determine where things stand for the future. The Blackhawks do have to pick at number-two before they get to see Reichel play a game on this new contract, but I wonder if having Frank Nazar, Oliver Moore, and Reichel in the system along with Bedard has the team leaning a little more towards Artyom Levshunov instead of Ivan Demidov. Selecting a defenceman second overall would certainly be another slight vote of confidence in Reichel's favour.

*

I went six for eight in the first round, only missing a perfect score because of Arturs Silovs and the Dallas Stars. Unfortunately, that also means that my Cup pick is out, as I had Vegas pulling off the back-to-back. Alas, it's a wide-open year, and I could realistically see any of the remaining teams pulling out the win, though in Vancouver's case it would require a substantial elevation of play from Elias Lindholm and Elias Pettersson.

Lindholm's play in Vancouver has dropped his fantasy stock substantially, but it has also affected his projected salary. Preliminarily he is showing in the $6M range on a new contract, looking more like a Nazem Kadri level asset in free agency rather than the $8-9 million asset we were expecting back in the fall. Some timely scoring this round could really turn around that narrative.

My picks for the second round were published with the rest of the Dobber crew here. I have Edmonton in five, and Colorado in seven to make up the West. Over in the East, I should have had Florida in six, as Florida had sat too long and was likely going to be flat-footed in game one. I do believe Florida takes four of the next five though.

In the last matchup, I have Carolina over the Rangers in six. The Rangers took game one, but then game two going to overtime made a very important swing in the series, with the Rangers eventually taking it as well in double OT. Coming back from down 2-0 against the President's Trophy winning team that is rolling at the moment just doesn't seem likely at this point. Hopefully I can at least go 3-1 in the second round.

The big guns did show up for Carolina in game two. Five-foot-eleven winger Jake Guentzel had two goals, nearly had a third, and racked up five shots with two PIMs. The heart of the Hurricanes, Sebastian Aho, added three assists in regulation as well, bringing him to eight points in seven games, exactly matching his rate in the regular season (a 94-point-pace).

There was an interesting lineup change, with Max Comtois coming in for only his second NHL appearance of the season in place of Evgeny Kuznetsov. Kuzy had four games in six playoff games to this point, so it would be surprising if this was solely performance related. Comtois had one assist in one regular season game this year, and is right at his breakout threshold. He just needs an opportunity next year to be a regular in an NHL lineup.

Like Guentzel, Alexis Lafreniere also had two goals plus a near miss for a third. He's still looking for another level or two in the regular season, but seven points in six games in the playoffs is really intriguing. Especially after the pointless showing in seven games in last year's playoffs. Vincent Trocheck buried the game winner for two power play points on the night, to go with six shots, three hits, and 13 faceoff wins.

Jacob Trouba had a flying-elbow hit on Martin Necas. It's possible one or both end up missing games later in the series as a result.

"I'll fight you anytime"

– Tony DeAngelo to K'Andre Miller 😳pic.twitter.com/IEueLEWKCf

— New York Post Sports (@nypostsports) May 8, 2024

As a big K'Andre Miller fan, and whatever the opposite term is for Tony DeAngelo, I'm hoping I get to see this at some point.

*

There were some questions about Alexandar Georgiev's health, but he ended up getting the start. Dallas jumped on him early though, as Wyatt Johnston potted another goal – his fifth of the playoffs – while Ryan Suter also scored his first playoff goal in six years, drawing first blood in the buyout-bowl with Zach Parise.

The Avs battled back though, starting with Valeri Nichushkin extending his goal-scoring streak last night to seven games (nine goals covering the last game of the regular season and the first six games of the playoffs). That's an extremely impressive run as a cherry on top of his career-high 53 points this season in only 54 games. If he can stay healthy next season then 70 points feels like the floor. His shot rate and scoring were a little slow to return when Nichushkin came back from a mid-season absence, which was all that held him back from his second-straight campaign averaging at least three shots per game. He has kept up that three-shot-per-game rate in the playoffs as well, and a higher shot rate should stick assuming he plays heavy minutes alongside Casey Mittelstadt next year as well – as he is more of a passer, and only averages about 1.5 shots per game, leaving plenty to go around.

Georgiev shut the door in the latter two periods, while Cale Makar‘s three points (he’s now up to 12 points in six games) led the way in the comeback for the Avs. Miles Wood sealed it in overtime with some incredible speed around Miro Heiskanen of all people. Dallas can certainly keep up with the Avs, but it’s impossible to completely shut out those star Avs players.

Miles Wood with the overtime game-winner
Colorado completes the 3-0 comeback to take Game 1. pic.twitter.com/9lTV07PQbC

— Shayna (@hayyyshayyy) May 8, 2024

*

I'm currently working on updating all of my databases, so the latest cap skater and goalie rankings as well as the salary projections will be out around the end of the month.

If you have any players you want opinions or projections though in the meantime, I'm happy to discuss.

The top three projected salaries right now belong to Sam Reinhart, Jake Guentzel, and Moritz Seider. No surprises there. It was interesting to see Thomas Harley in the top-10 though. Deservedly so, and especially with Miro Heiskanen setting the bar there, we can't rule out a similar long-term contract offered to Harley. It might be best for the team to try to go that route this year too. As long as the Stars can manage the cap well with all these young players they have, they are going to be a great team for a long time.

*

Quick thought: While everyone is talking about the Iginla connection with Jarome Iginla's Calgary Flames possibly able to take Tij Iginla at pick number nine (I think it happens), it doesn't seem like anyone has lined up the other possible family connection at the back end of the first round. That would be Cole Hutson to the Montreal Canadiens at pick #28, to play with his brother Lane. The Canadiens don't necessarily need to grab a defenceman, and word is they are targeting a forward with their number-five pick, but it would likely be very hard to pass on completing the set if they have the opportunity.

*

See you next Wednesday. In the meantime, you can find me on Twitter/X here, or BlueSky here if you have any fantasy hockey questions or comments.