Ranking the NHL Teams Most Likely to Win the Connor McDavid Sweepstakes

Connor McDavid is seen as a generational talent, a prospect with the same kind of value that Sidney Crosby brought out of the 2005 NHL draft. Even without him, 2015 is reputed to be a good draft year; with him in the mix, it's something else entirely.

The reward for finishing last in the league this year is the best overall chance of landing McDavid, though all 14 non-playoff teams will have at least a chance of drafting him.

As it stands right now, which team is most likely to come away from this summer's draft with the best prize in a decade? The following slideshow shows our projections for the NHL's bottom 10 teams, the team's most likely to win the McDavid sweepstakes.

Unless otherwise noted, statistics are courtesy of NHL.com and war-on-ice.com and are current through the start of action on January 6

10. Columbus Blue Jackets

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Current pace: 82 points

Working for/against: Columbus is 11-2-1 since the start of December and doing absolutely everything it can to close the gap between itself and a playoff position. There's some distance yet to cover, but this is a much better team than the injury-plagued group that struggled out of the gate. 

Imagine: A McDavid-Ryan Johansen-Brandon Dubinsky one-two-three punch at centre. The team could trade Artem Ansimov for help elsewhere, leave Boone Jenner on the wing and still be gloriously set up down the middle. 

9. Calgary Flames

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Current pace: 92 points

Working for/against: Bob Hartley's Flames have the second-worst even-strength shot-attempt ratio in the league; the Flames spend far more time in their own end of the ice than in their opponent's. With a subpar second half and a little help from the draft lottery, they just might do it.

Imagine: McDavid and Sean Monahan centering the Flames attack, with Mark Giordano and T.J. Brodie anchoring the blue line. 

8. Ottawa Senators

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Current pace: 84 points

Working for/against: The Senators are 5-5-1 in just less than a month under new head coach Dave Cameron; that really isn't the kind of record that's going to get them into a favourable draft position. 

Imagine: McDavid and Erik Karlsson running the Sens power play. 

7. Colorado Avalanche

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Current pace: 80 points

Working for/against: Semyon Varlamov has struggled through an injury-plagued campaign, but the Avs were saved by an incredible performance from farmhand Calvin Pickard (.906 save percentage in the AHL in 2013-14; .934 save percentage in the NHL this year). Varlamov's back and is playing, but he has yet to get himself on track. If he continues in his current trend, it would help the Avs' quest for McDavid significantly.   

Imagine: With McDavid, Matt Duchene and Nathan MacKinnon down the middle (not to mention Gabriel Landeskog on the wings), the Avs could finally trade Ryan O'Reilly for a defenceman and shore up their greatest weakness. 

6. Philadelphia Flyers

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Current pace: 74 points

Working for/against: Of the Flyers' 39 games so far this season, just 16 have come at home, where the team has an 8-5-3 record; 23 have come on the road (6-13-14). Even assuming no change in their level of play, the team should improve the rest of the way with more home games. 

Imagine: McDavid and Claude Giroux going head-to-head with Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin whenever the Flyers meet the Penguins. Every reporter in the league would hope for a playoff series between the two teams. 

5. New Jersey Devils

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Current pace: 70 points

Working for/against: Peter DeBoer was finally fired at the end of December, but somehow the Devils found a less appealing coaching coaching arrangement, with co-coaches (seriously) Adam Oates and Scott Stevens working under the oversight of general manager Lou Lamoriello (again, seriously) behind the bench. 

Imagine: The outcry if Lamoriello somehow winds up with McDavid on his team after previously convincing the league to alter its cap circumvention penalty. Alternatively, imagine having to watch the Devils to see McDavid play. 

4. Arizona Coyotes

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Current pace: 73 points

Working for/against: Devan Dubnyk (9-4-2, .918 save percentage) now seems to be firmly entrenched as the Coyotes' No. 1 goaltender, which is bad news for Arizona's chances of landing McDavid, because unlike his predecessor, Mike Smith (6-15-2, .884 save percentage), Dubnyk hasn't been hilariously incompetent this season. 

Imagine: A full building in Phoenix as casual fans come out in droves to see a generational talent. On the other hand, if that seems implausible, imagine that same full building in Las Vegas or some other city that may end up becoming the new home of the Coyotes.

3. Carolina Hurricanes

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Current pace: 59 points

Working for/against: Carolina was crushed by injuries early on but is finally getting healthy; the return of Jordan Staal alone changes the team significantly. Combine that with a return to form from Cam Ward, and the second half of the season might go much better on the ice for the team.  

Imagine: McDavid and the Staal brothers on the same team. The Hurricanes would be extremely difficult to match up against down the middle. 

2. Edmonton Oilers

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Current pace: 55 points

Working for/against: Ben Scrivens seems to have found his game, and the Oilers are putting together a pretty decent little streak under new head coach Todd Nelson (2-0-2 since transitional coach Craig MacTavish left the bench). If those things continue, they'll be good for the team's record but bad for its draft position. 

Imagine: Of the Oilers' many weak positions, centre has been the ugliest this year. Add McDavid to Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Leon Draisaitl, and that might well be fixed; add in McDavid's World Junior teammate Darnell Nurse on defence, and things would be looking up in a big way for the Edmonton infinibuild. 

1. Buffalo Sabres

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Current pace: 64 points

Working for/against: The Sabres have ridden hot goaltending and won close games, but that can only carry a team so far. At five-on-five, the Sabres' 37.6 percent Corsi ratio is the worst in the NHL by a mile, nearly seven full points between the second-worst team in the league. Add in a long list of pending free agents who will be sent away at the deadline, and a plummet down the standings is assured. 

Imagine: It's awfully hard to imagine the Sabres with McDavid because so many of the team's exceptional young prospects are still playing below the NHL. But add him (and two other 2015 first-round picks, plus whatever the team adds in the span between now and then) to a prospect group that might be the best in the NHL, and Buffalo will be loaded for the next decade or more.