If Columbus won 1st overall pick for the first time ever

Created by: AndrewPawlack

Team: 2021-22 Columbus Blue Jackets

Initial Creation Date: May 23, 2022

Published: May 23, 2022

Salary Cap Mode: Basic

Legend

Left Handed

Original Team

Waivers Exempt

Right Handed

Position

Trade Clause

Max Perf. Bonus

Expiry Status

Term Remaining

McDavid, Connor

$12,500,000 ( Performance Bonus

$250,000)

NMC

UFA - 5

Description

The Blue Jackets have never won the 1st overall pick. (They traded up for Nash)

In 16 draft lotteries, they've only moved up once; and it was up 1 spot, 4th to 3rd overall.

They've picked in the top 10 14 times in their history, (15 after this year) only picking 1st once (they traded up for it), 2nd once, and 3rd once.

In 2005, they had the 3way tied-highest odds to draft Crosby 1st overall. Instead, they dropped to 6th.

All of the players listed here are players who would've started their career with Columbus if they could've picked the same player chosen 1st . (Lottery pick years only)

Imagine if any of these guys (minus Nash) started with Columbus. In almost every case, how much better they would've been.

Free Agent Signings

CREATED	YEARS	CAP HIT
Kovalchuk, Ilya	1	$750,000
Nash, Rick	1	$750,000
Yakupov, Nail	1	$750,000
Wright, Shane	1	$750,000

Trades

CBJ

Fleury, Marc-André

MIN

Instead, Columbus got Nikolai Zherdev at 4th.

CBJ

Ovechkin, Alex

WSH

Instead, Columbus got Alex Picard at 8th.

CBJ

Crosby, Sidney

PIT

Instead, Columbus got Gilbert Brule at 6th

CBJ

Johnson, Erik

COL

Instead, Columbus got Derick Brassard at 6th.

CBJ

Kane, Patrick

CHI

Instead, Columbus got Jakub Voracek at 7th.

CBJ

Stamkos, Steven

TBL

Instead, Columbus got Nikita Filatov at 6th.

CBJ

Hall, Taylor

BOS

Instead, Columbus got Ryan Johansen at 4th.

CBJ

Nugent-Hopkins, Ryan

EDM

Instead, Philly got Sean Couturier (Pick owned by Philly in Jeff Carter trade)

CBJ

MacKinnon, Nathan

COL

Instead, Columbus got Alex Wennberg at 14th.

10.

CBJ

McDavid, Connor

EDM

Instead, Columbus got Zach Werenski at 8th.

11.

CBJ

Matthews, Auston

TOR

Instead, Columbus got Dubois at 3rd.

12.

Retained Salary Transactions

Max Domi: $2,650,000 (50%)

Buried

Scott Harrington: $508,333 ($1,633,333)

Draft	Round 1	Round 2	Round 3	Round 4	Round 5	Round 6	Round 7
2022
2023
2024

ROSTER

LONG-TERM OUTLOOK

EMBED

TEXT-EMBED

ROSTER SIZE	SALARY CAP	CAP HIT	OVERAGES	BONUSES	CAP SPACE
16	$81,500,000	$105,477,762	$0	$25,000	-$23,977,762

Left Wing	Centre	Right Wing
Ovechkin, Alex $9,500,000$9,500,000 LW M-NTC, NMC UFA - 5	McDavid, Connor $12,500,000$12,500,000 C UFA - 5	Kane, Patrick $2,625,000$2,625,000 RW NMC UFA - 2
Nash, Rick $750,000$750,000	Matthews, Auston $11,640,250$11,640,250 C UFA - 3	Kovalchuk, Ilya $750,000$750,000
	Crosby, Sidney $8,700,000$8,700,000 C NMC UFA - 4	Stamkos, Steven $8,500,000$8,500,000 LW, C NMC UFA - 3
		MacKinnon, Nathan $6,300,000$6,300,000 C M-NTC UFA - 2
Hall, Taylor $6,000,000$6,000,000 LW NMC UFA - 4	Nugent-Hopkins, Ryan $5,125,000$5,125,000 LW, C NMC UFA - 8
Yakupov, Nail $750,000$750,000	Wright, Shane $750,000$750,000

Left Defense	Right Defense	Goaltender
	Johnson, Erik $6,000,000$6,000,000 RD M-NTC, NMC UFA - 2

		Fleury, Marc-André $3,500,000$3,500,000 G M-NTC UFA - 1
Power, Owen $916,667$916,667 ($25,000$25K) LD/RD UFA - 3

Top Comments

May 23, 2022 at 10:48 p.m.

Birtle34

Bandwagon fairweathe

Joined: Jun. 2018

Posts: 7,721

Likes: 3,305

Just imagine if they never missed so hard on the picks where they were, I kind of wonder if atl drafted better if it would have been a factor in keeping them in atl. Amazing what winning does for a franchise.

May 23, 2022 at 11:01 p.m.

NHLfan10506

Joined: May 2019

Posts: 41,140

Likes: 18,717

Gosh, I thought winning lotteries was so easy.

AndrewPawlack liked this.

May 23, 2022 at 11:05 p.m.

AndrewPawlack

19 lotteries, 0 wins

Joined: Oct. 2017

Posts: 1,240

Likes: 763

Quoting: NHLfan10506

Gosh, I thought winning lotteries was so easy.

well it seems to be for New Jersey

NHLfan10506 liked this.

May 23, 2022 at 11:07 p.m.

AndrewPawlack

19 lotteries, 0 wins

Joined: Oct. 2017

Posts: 1,240

Likes: 763

Quoting: Birtle34

almost never being able to pick top 3 makes every draft a much greater chance for hit or miss. And it's been mostly misses.

Birtle34 liked this.

May 23, 2022 at 11:14 p.m.

Birtle34

Bandwagon fairweathe

Joined: Jun. 2018

Posts: 7,721

Likes: 3,305

Quoting: AndrewPawlack

almost never being able to pick top 3 makes every draft a much greater chance for hit or miss. And it's been mostly misses.

Even top 10s should be players, that brûlé and little Russian misses were particularly awful, zherdev. Seems like they have never had a particular identity or gameplan. Tiny players that there skill didn’t play in the nhl is a rough start to a franchise. Should be like the area a hard working honest effort neighborhood, with some skilled mixed in.

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