Over the past few months, there has been a lot of discourse, both on this site and on Twitter, about whether or not it's okay to root for the Blue Jackets to lose games. Just to refresh everyone, if the Blue Jackets finish with the NHL's worst record, they will have a 25.5% chance of landing the top pick in this year's draft, meaning they'd select Connor Bedard, who's a generational prospect.
While Bedard is the top prize, if the Jackets finish last, they will pick no lower than third, meaning that they will have the chance to draft either Adam Fantilli or Leo Carlsson, two players that would be sure-fire first-overall picks in most other drafts.
NHL Draft Lottery Odds as of 10 a.m. ET on April 12 via tankathon.com
Now, back to the idea of rooting against the Jackets. If you've been a fan of the Blue Jackets, regardless of how long, your fandom has been filled mostly with losing. This is a franchise that has made the playoffs just six times in 22 seasons and has advanced past the first round of the playoffs just once. They've recorded one 100-point season, have had star players leave in free agency, and have had poor lottery luck. So, rooting for the team to have the best chance to draft a franchise-changing player like Bedard makes sense logically.
However, that would mean rooting for the team to lose, which seems like the antithesis of being a fan. I'm here to tell you that it's okay to root for them to lose. It does no good to anybody for the Blue Jackets to decrease their chances of landing either Bedard or a top-three pick, because I can guarantee you, the franchise will be better off and win more games in the long-term if they draft Bedard than if they don't draft Bedard. Now, if I'm wrong down the road, I will own up to it. But, Bedard is a prospect on the same level as Connor McDavid, who has done nothing but drag the Edmonton Oilers from complete shambles into a team that went to the conference finals last year and has another great shot of doing that and more this year. Ok, maybe drag is an over-exaggeration, because they've got other great players on the team like Leon Draisaitl, but Draisaitl was also a top-three pick, so I rest my case.
Could the Blue Jackets draft a great player outside of the top-three picks? Sure. But it's far less likely, and if they can't get a great player with that pick, that will prolong the team's rebuild, meaning more losing.
An updated look at the bottom of the #NHL standings. #CBJ in 32nd with two games left. pic.twitter.com/qIclKhsmjZ
— Coby Maeir (@CobyMaeir) April 12, 2023
If you detest rooting against your team, you can cheer for the Blue Jackets to win these final two games of the season, as you absolutely have the right to do so.
But, in a season where they've been out of the playoff race since before American Thanksgiving, rooting for them to lose so they'll have better odds in the draft lottery does not make you a bad fan at all.
