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MacKinnon Injury May End Up Helping The Avalanche

By Austin Manak

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Okay, lets be honest. Nobody wants to see the rising star player of your NHL franchise get injured. For lack of a better word, it sucks that Nathan MacKinnon will not play another game with the Colorado Avalanche this season.

It’s been an up and down past two weeks for MacKinnon, a fortnight that saw him record his first career NHL hat-trick, get demoted to the 4th line, lose his landlord to the Boston Bruins, and break his nose in a check delivered by Sean Bergenheim of the Minnesota Wild.

To cap it all off, we discover that he not only is sporting a broken nose, but also has a broken landlord for his toes. In less confusing terms (that also don’t rhyme as well), the kid has a broken foot. The real bummer of the incident for me, is that my favorite line of the season, the Mac’O’Kog line is no more.

Anyways, it’s hard to put a real positive spin on this, but I’m going to do my best.

The Colorado Avalanche currently have a 6% chance of winning the NHL Draft Lottery, and the right to select phenom Connor McDavid

The Colorado Avalanche had only a fools foolish hope of qualifying for the NHL playoffs even before Nathan MacKinnon went down. Now that they are without their dynamic teenager, they are going to resemble a gangly white rabbit chasing down multi-colored fruit cereal as they try to make the playoffs.

Spoiler alert, playoffs are for kids. Errr. Is that right?

Unless this team has some major trix up their sleeves, they are already looking toward the future. Part of that future is going to be the top-10 draft choice coming Colorado’s way as reward for their disappointing season.

With MacKinnon, the Avalanche are a stronger team. Their chances of winning are greater with MacKinnon in the lineup. With MacKinnon on the shelf, the Avs aren’t quite as dangerous. Especially considering Erik Johnson still appears 2-3 weeks away from even considering a return to the lineup.

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At this point, I think that the Avs should secretly hope that they do their fair share of losing down the stretch. The tank is on! Every loss from here on out will drop their playoff chances closer to that fatal 0%. However, those losses will also pad the chances the Avalanche have of winning the NHL draft lottery, and the right to select the prodigal Connor McDavid.

As it stands right now, the dream of McDavid actually has greater odds than the dream of making the playoffs this season.

The Avalanche have the 8th worst point total in the league, and thus, a 6% chance of winning the lottery. Not great odds, but still a chance. The Avalanche can significantly deflate those odds if they finish the season hot. As of today, there are 5 teams with “better” records than the Avalanche, but a “worse” chance at winning McDavid within 5 points of the Avs. If Colorado were to finish ahead of those 5 teams, their odds of 1st-overall would drop to 2%.

Even if Colorado doesn’t win the lottery, they are in position to select 8th overall. This year’s draft class is considered to be a good one, especially at the top. Within the top dozen or so picks, guys fly off the board. One pick may be the difference between getting a player you truly crave, and having to settle for someone else.

This season never got off the ground for the Avalanche like they wanted it to. They have been playing better hockey of late, and it has been fun to watch.

My sights are set on bigger things. The tantalizing thought of Connor McDavid in burgundy, or being able to have as high a draft choice as possible this summer bodes well for the future.

For that reason, so long as MacKinnon heals well and is ready to go next season, this injury may strangely end up helping the Avs. It may just keep them from winning enough games to sabotage their draft odds.

Next: The Mac'O'Kog Line Was A Beauty *sadface*

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