NHL Draft: Worst first-round draft pick in each team's history

NHL Draft: Worst first-round draft pick in each team’s history

PITTSBURGH, PA - JUNE 22: (L-R) Third overall pick by the Montreal Canadiens Alex Galchenyuk, first overall pick by the Edmonton Oilers Nail Yakupov and second overall pick by the Columbus Blue Jackets Ryan Murray pose during Round One of the 2012 NHL Entry Draft at Consol Energy Center on June 22, 2012 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images) /

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NHL commissioner Gary Bettman during the 2020 NHL Draft. (Photo by Mike Stobe/Getty Images) /

The NHL Draft is right around the corner, and each NHL team is coming into the night with one thing in common. They all have hope. The 31 general managers go into the night thinking they just found their next superstar, especially the teams who are picking in the first round.

There are moments in the NHL Draft when teams can completely turn their franchise around. The Detroit Red Wings got Nicklas Lidstrom in the second round. He will go down as probably the best defenseman of all time. The Tampa Bay Lightning got Nikita Kucherov in the second round as well, and he looks like one of the most dominant players in the league today. The NHL Draft can flip a franchise in the right direction.

It can also, however, ruin a franchise. Many GMs have lost their jobs for making the wrong picks in the NHL Draft. Franchises are kept in the doldrums for years because of a lack of drafting. Think about it. Teams hold staffs with dozens of people around the world just to pick seven players every season. Seven players which will likely turn into two or three NHL players in the future cost millions of dollars to NHL teams.

So, when a team drafts a bust, it hurts more than words can say. Teams will usually try to get some kind of value before they turn into total busts, but picking in the top ten and coming out without a game-changing player is devastating. It can put a franchise back decades. This might sound dramatic, but ask the Senators how much the 1993 draft hurts. Let’s take a look at some other painful draft moments for every single team.

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