5 Storylines To Follow During the Second Half of the Season for the Chicago Blackhawks

The Chicago Blackhawks are sitting dead last in the NHL standings at the All-Star break. On the bright side, that means the Hawks currently have the best odds to land the No. 1 overall pick in the NHL Draft Lottery. The winning prize is the right to draft Macklin Celebrini, who is considered another generational talent.

A lot can happen between now and the final game of the season that will alter the Hawks' position in the Tankathon.com standings.

The team's lottery odds are one of five storylines that are worth following over the rest of the season.

How bad do the rest of the contenders for the best NHL Draft Lottery chances get at the trade deadline?

Remember the panic everyone had last season when the Hawks won games before the deadline? A majority of the fans acted like every victory ruined any hope of drafting Connor Bedard. Then general manager Kyle Davidson held a fire sale at the NHL trade deadline and the Blackhawks won five games the rest of the season.

Davidson does not have a lot of players to trade this season to ensure a second half where the Chicago Blackhawks barely win. The team has a ton of injuries and that is why the franchise is at the bottom of the standings.

Getting healthy combined with the other franchises getting worse at the deadline will have an impact on the Hawks' final lottery odds.

The San Jose Sharks, Anaheim Ducks, and Columbus Blue Jackets all have players that will be sought after before the deadline. Once they finish trading off their assets, those three teams might just reach a level of bad that will out do the Hawks' level of terrible.