Would the Chicago Blackhawks be better off losing to the Edmonton Oilers?
As you know by now, the Chicago Blackhawks are going to play in the 24 teams “Return to Play” format if they are able to. The format put out the Hawks as the 12th seed in the Western Conference based on their regular-season points percentage and they are matched up against the 5th seeded Edmonton Oilers. It will certainly be a tough series for every team involved but the Blackhawks and Oilers will certainly be a doozy.
The question remains, would the Blackhawks be better off if they were to lose in the first round and be inserted into the Draft Lottery. All eight teams that lose in the play-in series will have a chance at the lottery if the top three spots aren’t won by the non-playoff teams. Either way, having a top-ten pick in this year’s draft is really going to help a lot of teams because it is perceived as one of the deepest drafts in many years.