The Ice Sheet: Lightning Strikes

Every day from Monday to Saturday, The Ice Sheet will take a look at the biggest stories in the league that happened on the ice and elsewhere the night before.

It may not be much of a made for TV event, and especially not when the outcome's as predictable as it was, but don't let anyone tell you the NHL's lottery draft is an insignificant happening.

Those little lottery balls can determine the course of a franchise, who gets a stud or a dud, a process that can result in millions of dollars and reshape the fortunes of a team down on its luck.

Just take the 2004 draft.

In 2003-04, the two worst teams in the league were Pittsburgh and Chicago, and between the two of them, they had nearly a 70-per-cent chance of drafting first overall.

That didn't happen, the balls went third-place Washington's way, and Alex Ovechkin became a Capital.How different would the league look today if that wasn't the case, if the league's MVP was a Penguin or a Blackhawk? And where would Washington be if they'd been left in third, picking a capable defenceman in Cam Barker instead of a true heart-and-soul franchise player?

Hey, those are the kinds of things that are decided by the little lottery balls, and Tampa Bay's win is a huge one for that franchise. And it appears they already know who they want in June's draft.

Steven Stamkos is going to be an incredible player in the NHL, likely within the next three years, and the last-place Lightning can certainly use his services. The difference between this year's draft, however, and what happened in 2004 is that this will be a deep pool of talent, with five or six terrific players expected to go.

That means that the Kings, Thrashers, Blues and Islanders should get great players, too, despite the fact Tampa Bay won the lottery.

What else went on:
Minnesota loses Nick Schultz for the first round
A video game follows the pack and picks the Sharks as Cup winners
The NHL Network Online is on the way
Bryan Murray has some fodder for the bulletin board
Boston's set to get back Patrice Bergeron
Greg Wyshynski handicaps the Jack Adams
TSN and the monkey make their picks
I pick the NHL's top defensive defenceman
Matt Fenwick offers insight into the playoff teams in the West