NHL Insider Elliotte Friedman on his 32 Thoughts podcast:

Spot the lie…

You can’t, because Friedman is right. Connor Bedard in Philly would be massive from a league perspective. He should come here because we are the best fit for his talents and also because the other potential landing spots suck.

Look at the other teams currently in the mix:

  • Anaheim Ducks – no one cares about hockey in California
  • Columbus Blue Jackets – mid team in Ohio
  • Chicago Blackhawks – they got their three Cups not that long ago, time for them to suck ass for a bit
  • San Jose Sharks – no one cares about hockey in California
  • Montreal Canadiens – no one outside of Quebec cares about the Canadiens
  • Arizona Coyotes – utterly irrelevant sporting franchise
  • Washington Capitals – won it too recently, still have Putin-lover Ovechkin down there
  • Detroit – eh, alright
  • St. Louis Blues – won it too recently
  • Vancouver – Bedard’s hometown, makes a lot of sense but also he’d be out there in late time slot, west coast obscurity


Bedard to Vancouver or Detroit would be suitable from a league perspective, but Philly is the best landing spot by far. It’s not even close. This franchise needs Bedard like I need a stiff drink after scrolling Twitter. Friedman won’t say it outright, but I will: the NHL should rig the lottery so that Connor Bedard becomes a Philadelphia Flyer.

It’s the right thing to do.