What about Arizona?

[Godin]

There was the elation and ire of Edmonton winning the lottery. The disappointment of Buffalo losing McDavid, but getting a great consolation prize in Eichel. The near hit by the Leafs who were that close to winning the lottery from 4th place. Well what about the Arizona Coyotes who suffered the worst results in the lottery by losing both McDavid and Eichel? They can't be feeling too good. After all, they did their best to battle the Sabres for 30th overall and the organization could use some much needed excitement. Got to feel for them.

[Thunder]

I feel bad for their fan base. Anyone know how to reach him?

[Slug]

I have one friend who has been a Yotes fan since they were the Jets. That's some hardcore loyalty lol. He was pretty upset about losing out on McDavid and Eichel. Media hasn't really even touched on it, guess nobody cares about Arizona.

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I feel bad for their fan base. Anyone know how to reach him?

He lives a block away from me. I will tell him you feel for him

[Southpaw20]

I was really pulling for them (if my beloved Leafs didn't win of course). Could have really helped save that franchise if they are indeed at risk of relocation. If memory is correct Pittsburgh was in some financial trouble heading into their lottery win where they nabbed Sid....that worked out well for them

Still have some exciting and promising young players coming through the Zona pipeline though with Domi, Duclair, Samuelsson, Dvorak, Gormley and will still land a great prospect with the #3 pick.

Maybe they will win the Auston Matthews lottery next year!

[pmorrow]

Although I didn't want them to win the lottery, I do feel bad for them. They've never really had a young superstar that sells tickets. Maybe - just maybe - they would be viable with a McDavid type. Generally speaking I think a franchise shouldn't need a superstar to be successful - winning should be enough. I do feel for their fans, the few and the proud.

[rataylor22]

Speculation is Matthews is actually better than Eichel. At the same time, it starts getting a lot harder to tank next year. Like a lot harder. With the top 3 up for grabs in the lottery, losing could drop you to 4th in the draft even if you finished dead last.

[SeaDawg]

If the Oilers didn't win, I wanted the Coyotes to win. That franchise has struggled on and off the ice, so landing a player like McDavid or Eichel would have hopefully solidified the organization. That said, I am also getting a bit tired of hearing about the team's struggles off the ice, especially when there are other cities that would love to have a franchise and would likely not have the same financial troubles.

From a pure fantasy perspective, I would have really liked OEL to have some support. He really is alone in a desert on that team.

[SeaDawg]

Speculation is Matthews is actually better than Eichel. At the same time, it starts getting a lot harder to tank next year. Like a lot harder. With the top 3 up for grabs in the lottery, losing could drop you to 4th in the draft even if you finished dead last.

I think Matthews is better than Eichel. There are a few really good forwards in the 2016 draft, so in addition to Dylan Strome who they will get this year, there is hope for the future.

If not Matthews, Puljujarvi from Finland would be a nice addition, and the Russian kid Sokolov might be something very special (though with Russians especially you just never know).

[rataylor22]

I think Matthews is better than Eichel. There are a few really good forwards in the 2016 draft, so in addition to Dylan Strome who they will get this year, there is hope for the future.

If not Matthews, Puljujarvi from Finland would be a nice addition, and the Russian kid Sokolov might be something very special (though with Russians especially you just never know).

They've gotta take Strome don't they? I guess Marner is an option too. But Hanifin is not a need, especially for Arizona.

[The Comish]

At #3 overall, they still have to go BPA. After dealing Yandle, they aren't as deep at D anymore. Consensus seems to be Strome, Hanifin, then Marner for 3-4-5 in that order.

[ericdaoust]

Had they kept Dubnyk a bit longer they could have finished one spot higher in the standings and won the lottery. Just saying.

[pmorrow]

They've gotta take Strome don't they? I guess Marner is an option too. But Hanifin is not a need, especially for Arizona.

Agreed. AZ is game-breaker starved even though they may already have one in Domi coming. They've got lots of good young Dmen with OEL, Murray, Gormley, Stone etc.

[The Bottlenecker]

I didn't want Arizona to win the lottery because I figured that not even a kid like McDavid will bring enough star power to save that organization. Why the NHL doesn't just send the team to Las Vegas right now is beyond my comprehension! Sorry Yotes fans, but this team is in trouble.

[TeamRamrod]

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i feel bad for their fan base. Anyone know how to reach him?

burn!!!

[Axeman33]

For a team swimming in quality D on their roster, and no room for their high end D prospects in the minors, I don't feel overly sorry for them. They have the ability to make trades for quality forwards and choose not to. Don't tell me there aren't teams crying for quality D out there with quality forwards to trade.

Trading Yandle was the first smart thing this franchise did in some time. It landed them Duclair and some high picks (and John Moore too). Duclair is going to be a very good NHL forward for the Yotes for years.

It's like watching the Oilers hang on to all their high end forwards and not make deals for D or a goalie. If there was ever a trade partner made in heaven it's these two (minus the goalie part of course)