One prediction has the Blackhawks trailing in the Gavin McKenna sweepstakes

One respected outlet is rather optimistic about the Chicago Blackhawks this season, so at least I'm not alone there. When I say 'optimistic,' I don't mean playoff contention, and neither does JFreshHockey.

The hockey analytics outlet has the Hawks finishing the season with 75 points, putting them well into the Central Division's basement, but with higher points totals than the Philadelphia Flyers, San Jose Sharks, Calgary Flames, and Anaheim Ducks.

That would give the Hawks the fifth-best chance to win the 2026 NHL Draft Lottery and the rights to draft Gavin McKenna, which would put him on the same ice as Connor Bedard, Frank Nazar, and Company.

Yeah, it may be worth being really bad for another year if it meant landing the best odds to draft McKenna. But if the Hawks ended the season with 75 points, I'm not complaining.

Plus, if Bedard, Nazar, Alex Vlasic, Spencer Knight, and them make progress, do we have anything to complain about, with as little as we've had to celebrate over the past five years?

Chicago Blackhawks may be good enough to lose out on Gavin McKenna, but that's fine

Something that jumped out at me with these picks is that JFreshHockey slated the San Jose Sharks as the bottom team in the league with just 70 points. And yeah, if they landed the best odds to draft McKenna, it could set up a potential Macklin Celebrini, Michael Misa, and McKenna trio, which, let's face it, would dominate the league.

Still, the Hawks have enough to counter that, something that six first-round picks over the past two years will give you. Then, there's what I discussed yesterday about how 2025-26 could (and should) be the turning point in the rebuild because you're gonna see a lot of prospects making that jump to full-time status in the NHL.

Even in a situation that sees San Jose win their second lottery in three seasons, the Hawks already have a counterattack. Still, if fate were to make life easier on the next slate of NHL greats, it won't let the Sharks win that lotto.

That said, should this projection reach the limelight, I'd much rather see Calgary, Anaheim, or Philadelphia snag the win. It'd be fitting for the Flyers, since McKenna's playing his college hockey for the Penn State Nittany Lions.

Seeing him end up in Philadelphia would also mean the Hawks wouldn't need to deal with him so often. But even if McKenna landed in the Western Conference, it's not the end of all hope, especially if Connor Bedard enjoys a breakout Year 3 campaign.