How the dominoes could fall at the NHL's 2015 entry draft
Connor McDavid and Jack Eichel are the consensus top two picks for the 2015 NHL entry draft, but who will be selected beyond them depends on when each team makes its pick.
The top of the draft order will be determined Saturday, when the league holds its annual draft lottery. The Buffalo Sabres are guaranteed either McDavid or Eichel with a top-two pick, while every other team in the lottery has three possible positions: first overall (by winning the lottery), the spot corresponding with its final position in the standings, or one spot back.
The first-overall selection is no mystery, but a team's options could vary drastically if it's bumped back by a team with a better record winning the lottery.
Here are some possible picks teams will make if they aren't lucky enough to win the McDavid sweepstakes:
Arizona Coyotes: If a team other than Arizona or Buffalo wins the lottery, the Coyotes will select third. Instead of adding to their stable of young puck-moving defensemen by selecting Noah Hanifin, Arizona could draft Mitch Marner to bolster its anemic offense.
Edmonton Oilers: The Oilers will jump at the opportunity to select Hanifin with the third pick. The Boston College defenseman is likely to be available at fourth overall as well if Edmonton is bumped back by the Coyotes.
Toronto Maple Leafs: Toronto needs a center with top-line potential, which makes Dylan Strome an obvious choice for the Maple Leafs at fourth or fifth overall.
Carolina Hurricanes: Carolina is lacking in size up front beyond players named Staal, so hulking winger Lawson Crouse is a tempting possibility. Crouse could be off the board if the Hurricanes fall to sixth overall, so Finnish winger Mikko Rantanen is also in play.
New Jersey Devils: If either Marner or Strome is still available, New Jersey will select them at sixth overall. The Devils need to replace their aging offense, so a seventh-overall selection by them could be anyone from Rantanen to Mathew Barzal or Pavel Zacha.
Philadelphia Flyers: Plenty of uncertainty surrounds Philadelphia's roster, but their most glaring need is to get more mobile on defense. Speedy blue-liner Ivan Provorov averaged more than a point per game in the WHL, which would make him a top-five pick in most draft years.
Columbus Blue Jackets: The Blue Jackets would draft a clean bill of health if they could, but the team will likely select from whoever is still available among Crouse, Rantanen, Barzal and Zacha.
San Jose Sharks: Either Barzal or Zacha is likely to be available should San Jose draft ninth, but the Sharks could be interested in rebuilding their blue line with Zach Werenski.
Colorado Avalanche: The Avalanche will scoop up Werenski if San Jose doesn't. Other blue-line options for Colorado include Jakub Zboril and a trio Swedish defensemen: Gabriel Carlsson, Jacob Larsson and Oliver Kylington.
Florida Panthers: The Panthers need to improve their forward depth, which makes a versatile winger like Timo Meier an obvious choice.
Dallas Stars: Dallas needs wingers, so the Stars will take Meier if he's available. Meier will probably be gone at 13th overall, though, so Kyle Connor or Evgeny Svechnikov could also be in play.
Los Angeles Kings: A diminutive playmaking center like Travis Konecny could be what Los Angeles is missing on offense.
Boston Bruins: If Kylington is still available, he shouldn't make it past Boston. Thomas Chabot is also a blue-line option.