Biggest draft winners and losers - 1980-2020

I am only leaving 2021-2025 off the table because it's in the stage of too early to tell. This is based off pre-trades unless they traded the player away or how much it helped them in the future. I know some players it's about getting their chance, but it's not entirely on the players, but also on coaching and management who didn't do well. But I think some players could've shown their best potential if given a rightful chance, but in this case it's about the work the team did to help the future of the organization. 

2020

Winner - Ottawa Senators - The Senators acquired the third overall pick via a trade from San Jose, which involved star defenseman Erik Karlsson. The Senators took Tim Stutzle, and they also had their own pick which was the fifth overall where they ended up taking Jake Sanderson, and with their final first pick they took Ridly Greig. But not just that, Ottawa had ten picks and eight of them managed to crack the line-up. 

Loser - Arizona Coyotes - Sure they didn't have a first-round pick but they took probably the worst pick in the entire draft. But their seventh-rounder has played 2 games present day which was Ben McCartney of Portage la Prairie, Manitoba, who was ironically Ridly Greig's teammate with the Wheat Kings. 

2019

Winner - Washington Capitals - Our of four picks, they took three out of four players who became NHL regulars with a combines six-hundred-plus games total which involve Aliaksei Protas, Connor McMichael, and Brett Leason. Also thought Ottawa and Los Angeles did well, but the Capitals did better with little amounts of picks.

Loser - Winnipeg Jets - Only one of their five picks, who they traded back for from the Rangers as part of the Kevin Hayes and Jacob Trouba trades, it was almost like the first-round pick was interest going to and back the Jets' way. That pick was Ville Heinola, and if I'm being honest believe can play in the NHL. But what's upsetting is none of the others cracked the NHL. 

2018

Winner - Edmonton Oilers - They had four out of five picks crack the NHL in Evan Bouchard, Ryan McLeod, Michael Kesselring, and Olivier Rodrigue. Evan Bouchard became an Oilers blue-line staple, as McLeod and Kesselring became better players. Edmonton ended up landing Matt Savoie for McLeod who was a top-ten pick in the 2022 NHL Draft, and Kesselring was traded to Arizona for Nick Bjugstad and Cam Dineen. Dineen remains with the Oilers, but hasn't seen much ice-time with the NHL. 

Loser - Nashville Predators - They went all-in that year when they won the President's Trophy, and when those years come about, you sell the farm. Their only draft pick was Spencer Stastney who only played fifty-one games and was taken fifth round. He remains with the club present day but has been getting called up and sent back down to the AHL. 

2017

Winner - Dallas Stars - Won the lottery moving them up into the top three, where they took Miro Heiskanen, but not just that they took their goaltender Jake Oettinger who has been a reliable starter for Dallas and representing the United States, and finally Jason Robertson. But what made this draft a tad bit more impressive was five of seven players the Stars took cracked the NHL. But another team that did well was 

Loser - Nashville Predators - They took Eeli Tolvanen with their first pick, and they placed him on waivers where he was taken by the Seattle Kraken who hadn't existed when he was drafted. Tolvanen has shown he belongs in the NHL, and the only other pick they had who cracked the NHL for two games was defenseman David Farrance, who played his most recent season in Finland. 

2016

Winner - Tampa Bay Lightning - Their picks made have over one-thousand games played and parts they drafted were used to trade for Ryan McDonaugh, a big piece of the blue-line in their cup wins which were Brett Howden and Lubor Hajek, Taylor Raddysh and Boris Katchouk who were part of the Brandon Hagel trade, Ross Colton who was later traded to Colorado for a 2nd, and Connor Ingram whose become a solid goaltender in this league. 

Loser - Vancouver Canucks - Their first-round pick was Olli Juolevi, when lots of great players were available; most notably Matthew Tkachuk. Out of six picks, three only cracked the NHL which were also William Lockwood and Rodrigo Abols, but Abols never dressed for the Canucks and Lockwood was traded for Vitali Kravstov who was taken ninth overall in 2018 only putting up two points in sixteen games before heading back home to Russia. This is probably one of the most pathetic of them all. 

2015

Winner - Columbus Blue Jackets - They took one of the best players in Blue Jackets history in Zach Werenski, also taking big names like Valdislav Gavrikov, Kevin Stenlund, Markus Nutivaara, and Keegan Kolesar who was later traded to Vegas. They also made a good pick here in Paul Bittner, who I find was developed properly would've been a staple to this league. Even then, these picks are some of the best. 

Loser - Detroit Red Wings - They took Sergei Svechnikov as their first-round pick, who managed to play one hundred and seventy two games total and putting up forty-five points. But he also had stints with the Winnipeg Jets and the San Jose Sharks, which he left the Red Wings where they had nothing to show for it, and Chase Pearson was the other player of the six they took total who cracked the NHL only playing three games. The 2015 NHL Draft will forever be forgotten by Red Wings fans. 

2014

Winner - Boston Bruins - With a late first-round pick they took one of the best players to ever play for their club which is David Pastrnak, but they also took many good players and a total of two-thousand games while also drafting Danton Heinen; traded for Nick Ritchie who Anaheim took tenth overall in that draft, Ryan Donato who was traded for Charlie Coyle, and Anders Bjork who was traded for both Taylor Hall and Curtis Lazar. The only other player they selected was Emil Johansson, but this is low-key one of the best drafts from an NHL team I've ever seen. 

Loser - Dallas - With the fourteenth pick they took a Finnish defenseman from the Swift Current Broncos known as Julius Honka, who was not just the only draft pick to play in the NHL, but the only one of those nine which is pretty brutal if you ask me. Honka ended up playing eighty-seven games before leaving for nothing and having a successful career in Switzerland. Dallas had nothing to show for this draft.

2013

Winner - Winnipeg Jets - They took not just one of their best, but one of the best defenseman in Josh Morrissey with their first-round pick. They also took Nic Petan, who was deemed a steal at the time, but the most impressive one which is Andrew Copp which later landed them pieces to rebuild for the future in a trade with the New York Rangers. But out of the ten picks they made, six of them cracked the NHL. 

Loser - San Jose Sharks - The Sharks took Mirco Mueller with their first-round pick, and was the only one of seven picks to crack the NHL. But the silver-lining here was he was traded for the pick that got them Mario Ferraro whose been solid for them in their toughest times. 

2012

Winner - Tampa Bay Lightning - They probably took the best potential player in the draft while also amounting the total of games, but also took Cedrik Paquette, Slater Koekkoek, Nikita Gusev, and Jake Dotchin, who all cracked the NHL on a stacked Tampa Bay Lightning team. This is damn impressive. 

Loser - Phoenix Coyotes - I hate when ex-players kids get taken, and in this case the Coyotes took Henrik Samuelsson with their first-round pick, only playing three games before being traded to the Oilers. The only other player they took was Jordan Martinook in the second round that made himself known as a Carolina Hurricane. But the only other one to crack the NHL and play two games was goaltender Marek Langhamer. If it weren't for Martinook's success, this goes down as one of the worst ever!

2011

Winner - Ottawa Senators - They had three first-round picks in the draft, Mika Zibanejad, Stefan Noesen, and Matt Puempel who was the former CHL Rookie of the Year. Crazier part here was they drafted Ryan Dzingel and JP Pageau too to name a few. Eight of the ten cracked the line-up. One unique pick here was Ryan Kramer, who was a tough guy that I believe was tough enough for the NHL. They also made a good pick with Jordan Fransoo who I believe could've gotten at least ten games in the NHL. 

Loser - Toronto Maple Leafs - They had two first-round picks, and took Tyler Biggs and Stuart Percy, didn't do too bad with the Garret Sparks and Joshua Leivo picks, but aside from Leivo the remaining seven draft picks have a total of fifty-seven games played. 

2010

Winner - Carolina Hurricanes - They ended up taking rookie of the year Jeff Skinner, while also taking Justin Faulk, Fredrik Andersen, and six of their eight draft picks cracked the NHL which is just fabulous. They don't get talked about enough for this. 

Loser - Atlanta Thrashers - Alexander Burmistrov and Julian Melchiori were the only two of nine picks who cracked the NHL. 

2009

Winner - Colorado Avalanche - With only seven draft picks, four made the NHL, and were also used in trades that got the Avalanche their 2022 Stanley Cup. Matt Duchene, Ryan O'Rielly, Stefan Elliot and Tyson Barrie. This draft alone is what was a big part of Avalanche history, and Avs fans better never forget this draft. 

Loser - Montreal Canadiens - This was sad considering they hosted the draft as it was the 100th anniversary of the club. But they took a total of nine players, Louis Leblanc was their first-round pick who only played fifty games and put up ten points, Gabriel Dumont played ninety games and only put up nine points, and finally the final player of those nine who played in the NHL was Joonas Nattinen who only played one game. 

2008

Winner - Ottawa Senators - They took Erik Karlsson fifteenth overall, who brought them wonders and joy in every aspect. But they also took six players and only one didn't crack the NHL. They also added Mark Borowiecki, Zack Smith, Peter Weircrioch, Derek Grant, and the last player who played one game was Andre Petersson. This is incredible given they were the host city. 

Loser - Chicago Blackhawks - They took a total of seven players, and two had cracked the NHL. One was Shawn Lalonde who only played one game, and the final one was Ben Smith. I think this draft Chicago should've tried harder or just trade that first-round pick away for some talent. 

2007

Winner - Montreal Canadiens - They managed to get McDonaugh, Pacioretty, Subban, and Yannik Weber in this draft which were four of their nine picks in this draft. Some took more players to crack a team, but this is damn impressive given they didn't have a top-ten pick. Some of these players turned into great asset value for Montreal. 

Loser - Vancouver Canucks - They should've just traded for pieces to make them competitive because there is nothing more humiliating than having six picks and not one making the NHL. I mean, at least they made some good trades from those draft picks. I'd say Washington, but at least Alzner made the NHL. 

2006

Winner - Boston Bruins - They somehow landed Phil Kessel, but not just Phil the Thrill, but they also managed to get big pieces of Bruins history alone in this draft such as Milan Lucic and Brad Marchand, and only four of six draft picks of the Bruins that year cracked the NHL. 

Loser - Calgary Flames - Leland Irving was their only pick playing in thirteen games out of the eight that were chosen. 

2005

Winner - Pittsburgh Penguins - We all remember how they won in a big way, but they also got out of the seven draft picks over two-thousand games from three players, Joe Vitale, Kris Letang, and finally one of the best things to happen to Pittsburgh: Sidney Crosby. 

Loser - Florida Panthers - Only two of the draft picks they made which were Kendall McArdle and Brian Foster. This is a draft forgotten by Panthers fans. 

2004

Winner - Vancouver Canucks - Brian Burke is a general manager that gets lots of controversial opinions, but I like him in the sense of how he looks ahead. And in this case he exceeded expectations with only seven picks, and four happened to crack the NHL. But not just any four, but all those players dressed in over four-hundred games, which happened to be Mike Brown, Jannik Hansen, Cory Schneider, and finally one of the best Canucks in their franchises history which was Alexander Edler. Some can argue Chicago could have won, but Vancouver did this with less draft picks than Chicago. 

Loser - Los Angeles Kings - The best player they took out of their nine draft picks was Scott Parse who was taken in the sixth round, and if you combine the total games of all their draft picks it adds up to eighty-six. That's horrible, but not the worst. The other three who cracked the NHL played less than five games which one was Daniel Taylor who was a goalie, the other was Japanese goaltender Yutaka Fukufuji who both respectfully dressed in four games, but their only other pick to crack the NHL was Lauri Tukonen who played in only five games in a span of two seasons where he later went back to Finland where he managed to have a successful career there. As for Scott Parse, I feel if he was given a solid chance with the right team he would've likely played more NHL games. 

2003

Winner - Chicago Blackhawks - They take one of their best blue-liners in not just Seabrook, but with one of their picks managed to find a guy named Dustin Byfuglien, and a goaltender named Corey Crawford who were a big part of Chicago's three cups. 

Loser - Arizona Coyotes - I can excuse the fact they didn't have a first-round pick, but that's horrible to have eight draft picks and not be able to find one guy who can play in the NHL. 

2002

Winner - Chicago Blackhawks - Aside from finding Duncan Keith as a steal, they drafted players who'd go onto have long careers such as James Wisniewski and Anton Babchuk. Chicago was paving a nice road to success around here, the last time the Hawks made the playoffs before 2008-09. 

Loser - Edmonton Oilers - Had thirteen picks, and only three made it to a total of playing ninety-two games total. Jeff Drouin-Deslauriers is the only one that stands out who was a goaltender taken with their second-round pick, and yes they had a first-rounder they used on Jesse Niiimaki, who only got one goal and the only point of the twenty-four games he played in the AHL. 

2001

Winner - Minnesota Wild - The draft where they 

Loser - Tampa Bay Lightning - Their only two picks to make it were Evgeny Artyukhin, and Alexander Svitov. Both great players, but those were two of the fourteen to crack the NHL from the Lightning's draft picks. But on the plus side, Svitov was traded for Darryl Sydor who was part of the 2004 Stanley Cup. Artyukhin was a solid and physical player who was difficult to play against, but he's one I believe should be talked about more. 

2000

Winner - Minnesota Wild - They had nine picks and three didn't make it, but it was headlined by Marian Gaborik who was the Minnesota Wild's first star player. In the second round they took Nick Schultz who played over one-thousand NHL games, some argue Los Angeles did better with Frolov, Lilja and Visnovsky, but the total amount of games combined from Minnesota exceeds Los Angeles. Minnesota had themselves something good starting which did end up having quite a good run. 

Loser - Phoenix Coyotes - Krys Kolanos will be remembered for that penalty shot on Patrick Roy, but he is one dedicated hockey player who had high expectations that was taken with their first-round pick. From there on he bounced around all over playing one-hundred and forty-nine games and putting up forty-two points. Ramzi Abid was taken a second time in this draft only to be traded by Phoenix to Pittsburgh. 

1999

Winner - New York Islanders - Nine of fourteen draft picks cracked the NHL from this draft class for the Islanders, headlined by Tim Connolly, Taylor Pyatt, and Radek Martinek. Considering this was one of the worst drafts in NHL history, the Islanders won this draft amongst all the teams as they also picked up lots of players who ended up playing over one-hundred games. This is incredible!

Loser - Toronto Maple Leafs - Not a single pick made it, and this is a draft Leaf fans would be happy to forget given it was hosted in Boston. 

1998

Winner - Montreal Canadiens - They managed to find a lot of hidden gems in this draft, and their first rounder was Eric Chouinard, who only played ninety games, but all ten of the picks combined and the seven who played they have a combined four-thousand games played which is more than the entire draft. Hidden gems such as long-time Habs defender Andrei Markov who some may not remember, but if he was on a cup winning team or played with one of the best players in his prime might have gotten himself inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame, Mike Ribeiro who some have mixed views on but was a very talented NHLer, Michael Ryder, and Francois Beauchemin, to name a couple. This is a rare accomplishment and is one of the best ever!

Loser - Edmonton Oilers - Out of ten draft picks only three cracked the NHL. Good news was they have a total of over one-thousand games, bad news is only one of those players got over one-thousand games which was former Oilers captain Shawn Horcoff, their leader throughout the time they kept falling last place, one Oilers fans have controversial opinions about. The other two were Alex Henry who played in one-hundred and seventy-seven games but only three with the Oilers before being claimed off waivers, and the final one was a goaltender some Oiler fans will remember named Mark Morrison. Some teams did worse, but I think Edmonton should've been better. 

1997

Winner - Boston Bruins - They had the first-overall pick in this draft and took Hockey Hall of Famer Joe Thornton with that pick. Not just Joe Thornton, they also took Sergei Samsonov who was rookie of the year, Ben Clymer, and Antti Laksonen who all player over four-hundred games, although they had twelve picks and six of them made it. One pick here that impressed me was Lee Goren who had a stellar minor-league career, and if he was given a better chance I think he could've gotten two-hundred games under his belt. 

Loser - Calgary Flames - Their history of developing prospects was poor, and I think if Daniel Tkaczuk was developed properly he would've been a stud, heck he had a career total of eleven points in nineteen games, and the one who played the most games was John Tripp who didn't even dress for the Flames, and they had four of twelve draft picks make it, and to make matters worse they all have a combined total of eighty-one games which isn't even a full NHL season. This is embarrassing... even when you have the sixth-overall pick.

1996

Winner - Ottawa Senators - With the first-overall pick they took a player who spent his career with the Senators, and I seem anything that results in a number being retired successful. But they had seven draft picks and six cracked the NHL line-up. But the other players they took were Sami Salo, Andreas Dackell, Ivan Ciernik, Antti-Jussi Niemi, and Erich Goldmann. This low-key set-up the Senators for long-term success in the 2000's. 

Loser - Detroit Red Wings - I mean, Red Wings fans shouldn't be too hurt about this one given the Red Wings were in a competitive state and the draft was weak, but the only player of their nine draft picks to make it was their first-rounder Jesse Wallin who only played forty-nine games who only was up and down from the minors and the Red Wings. 

1995

Winner - St. Louis Blues - With no first-round pick they had eight draft picks total, and six of them made it most notably Michel Handzus and Jochen Hecht, and the total of games between all eight picks is over two-thousand. And doing that with no first-round pick is top-notch. This may be one of the best, if not the best. 

Loser - Washington Capitals - Both first-rounders played less than five games total, and across all ten players they drafted five cracked the NHL, but their games added together are one-hundred and sixty-five! Each team in this draft took a player in the first round that played over that many games which is unacceptable. The player who played the most games was fifth-round pick Benoit Gratton who had sixteen in fifty-eight games, twenty-two of them with the Capitals. 

1994

Winner - Quebec Nordiques - Thirteen draft picks and six cracked the NHL. But they were some of the biggest names you could find: Milan Hejduk winner of the Rocket Richard Trophy which is one of the hardest to win, Tim Thomas who won the Conn Smythe in 2011 with Boston, Chris Drury, and also Wade Belak was taken with their first-round pick. What makes this more impressive is they got all these guys in one draft. 

Loser - Winnipeg Jets - The best player they took amongst the eleven was Deron Quint, who played over four-hundred games. The other two that cracked the NHL were Craig Mills and Travis Hansen who each played just over thirty games. The reason it's not the worst is they didn't have a first-rounder, but they did the worst amongst all the teams in this draft. 

1993

Winner - Hartford Whalers - Brian Burke's first draft where he took Chris Pronger second overall who was first of eight picks, but three never cracked the NHL. The other players taken were Marek Malik, Manny Lagace, Nolan Pratt, and Igor Chibirev which makes this the best draft in this year by a team. 

Loser - Chicago Blackhawks - Not the worst, maybe one of the best for worsts as they took Eric Daze, a good player lots of fans may forget about, but he has one of the most underrated careers out there as he had six-hundred games and three-hundred and ninety-eight total points. But what makes this bad is they had twelve picks, their first-round pick Eric Lecompte never played a game, Ryan Huska was a third-round who later became a coach only playing one game, and finally their second-round pick Eric Manlow played thirty-seven games and had a total of six points. Now add this to Daze's game total and you have six-hundred and thirty-nine games. 

1992

Winner - Calgary Flames - With a total of twelve draft picks, eight of these players cracked the NHL. Cory Stillman headlines this team given he is one of the best players in this draft, being third in points amongst the rest. The other three who played in over three-hundred games are Robert Svehla, Joel Bouchard, and Jonas Hogland. This is the best draft for the Calgary Flames, but not the best ever amongst NHL clubs. But sure did redeem themselves from the 1991 NHL Entry Draft. 

Loser - Philadelphia Flyers - Jason Bowen was their first round pick only playing seventy-seven games taken for his size, but the thing here is he's a forward which is why it's quite disappointing in my eyes, but what's even more disappointing is they had the seventh overall pick, which was used to select Ryan Sittler who never played a single game. And they had a total of ten draft picks, and the best one was the only one of the two that played over one-hundred games which was Chris Herperger taken in the tenth round. Beyond awful if you ask me. 

1991

Winner - Quebec Nordiques - With a total of fourteen picks, eight cracked the NHL. This was one of the more infamous drafts as Eric Lindros reportedly didn't want to play for the Quebec Nordiques -- secretly Marcel Aubut as he stated in an interview he wanted nothing to do with him as it had nothing to do with the Quebec Nordiques. The Lindros hype was huge, so big that it caused for controversy. But this isn't entirely why Quebec won the draft even though when they'd relocate to Colorado they'd win two cups thanks to their trade with the Flyers. But the Nordiques have a combined total of two-thousand games with all the players they drafted as five cracked three-hundred games which is why they win the 1991 NHL Entry Draft.  

Loser - Calgary Flames - Their best pick was taken in the third round, which isn't the worst which was Sandy McCarthy who played seven-hundred and thirty-six games with one-hundred and forty-eight total points. But with the other thirteen picks chosen by Calgary, their first-round pick Niklas Sundblad only played two games and had no points. But the one who played fifty-four games was the one who played the second most games which was goaltender Andrei Trefilov. The remaining three couldn't make it past ten games. I see why Calgary did better in the last draft, good for them. 

1990

Winner - Philadelphia Flyers - New Jersey had a good draft, but with fifteen total picks in the 1990 NHL Draft, the Flyers with their top pick took a good player which was Mike Ricci, also finding steals in Tommy Soderstrom, Chris Therien, Chris Simon, and Mikael Renberg, as nine of the fifteen picks played in the NHL. Mike Ricci and Chris Simon was also part of what brought Eric Lindros to Philadelphia, who was a big part in moving the Flyers forward in their franchises history. So this draft will always be forever memorable for Flyers fans. 

Loser - Edmonton Oilers - Not a single player drafted by the Oilers cracked the NHL from this draft. 

1989

Winner - Detroit Red Wings - Obvious winner here as they made no bad picks here with fourteen, seven of those players making the NHL. With their first pick they took Mike Sillinger, while also making four big steals in the draft in Vladimir Konstantinov, Sergei Fedorov, Dallas Drake, Bob Boughner, and last but least one of the five best defenseman of all time... Niklas Lidstrom. This is the draft that turned the Red Wings into a force to be reckoned with, and is by far one of the best drafts by a team. With all the players they drafted they have a combined total of five-thousand games which is insane! Not a lot of teams have ever done that, so this is why you should respect the Red Wings, even if you are a Colorado or Chicago fan. 

Loser - Chicago Blackhawks - With a total of ten picks, only two made it. Their first-round pick was Adam Bennett, a defenseman who only dressed in sixty-nine NHL games, the other one being Milan Tichy who was drafted eighth round playing only twenty-three games, making it a total of ninety-two games between all the draft picks. This is one of the worst given none of the two put up a single goal for the Chicago Blackhawks while doing well on other teams. But I don't think this will hurt Blackhawks fans all that much as they were a good team going into the nineties. 

1988

Winner - Quebec Nordiques - Eight of twelve draft picks not only cracked the NHL, but seven of the eight lasted longer than two-hundred games which is crazy. Quebec sure were good at drafting players, after taking Curtis Leschyshyn third overall they took big steals most notably Stephane Fiset, Claude Lapointe, and Valeri Kamensky.

Loser - Calgary Flames - Jason Muzzatti was their first-round pick, who only played sixty-two games in the NHL and the most of the Flames draft class. They had a total of twelve draft picks, and had it not been for Chicago drafting Jeremy Roenick or the Minnesota North Stars taking Mike Modano, they'd be clear losers because they were the only two of their draft class to make it. But all five of the twelve draft picks have a combined two-hundred and twenty-two games which is the lowest of all the teams, and that's horrible.

1987

Winner - Montreal Canadiens - They had a total of fourteen picks, and six of them cracked the NHL. But four of them played over nine-hundred games, those players being John LeClair, Mathieu Schneider, Andrew Cassels, and Eric Desjardins. 

Loser - Washington Capitals - Eleven picks were made and two played, and the total amount of games between all of them were one-hundred and twenty-one. One was played by Tyler Larter, and the remaining one-hundred and twenty who put up twenty-seven points total was Steve Maltais, who will be remembered by the Chicago Wolves, but didn't put up a single point for the Capitals. This goes to show how embarrassing the Capitals were when it came to prospects given they'd go onto succeed with their next team.

1986

Winner - Detroit Red Wings - Twelve picks were made by the Red Wings in this draft, and they also had the first overall pick which happened to be Joe Murphy. But the big pick here that makes them the winner is Adam Graves which was taken in the second round, and this showed promise in the Red Wings which is almost like breaking ground to something exciting. Also, this was a weak draft, but what also makes the Red Wings the clear winner is ten of the twelve picks cracked the NHL, and the Red Wings gave it their all this draft. 

Loser - Edmonton Oilers - Some may argue six of the twelve players made it, but their first-round pick Kim Issel played only four games. And the total of games played amongst all draftees by the Oilers in the 1986 NHL Entry Draft was fifty, which is crazy. And the point total was thirteen, I think that's basically a career of someone that barely had a chance. 

1985

Winner - Buffalo Sabres - Total of twelve draft picks, and one of their selections happened to be Gretzky actually who never played for them; Keith Gretzky. But that's actually not why though, eight of the twelve cracked the NHL. Also all the players they took played over a total of two-thousand games. The names happened to be starting with their first-round pick Calle Johansson, Benoit Hogue, Joe Reekie, and Ken Baumgartner. Some teams did well too, but Buffalo gets the clear win of the 1985 NHL Entry Draft. 

Loser - Los Angeles Kings - A total of ten draft picks, and they had picks nine and ten, which both players not even combined played as many as the player drafted by the Kings who played the most games, and that was forty-six by Petr Prajsler, who was taken in the fifth round! Not even the amount of points both first-rounders the Kings took could amount to Prajsler's carer totals, and three of those ten made it. And you knew it was bad when the Minnesota North Stars did a better job than you. 

1984

Winner - Calgary Flames - With a total of twelve draft picks, all six players drafted have over four-thousand-five-hundred games played and two-thousand points. Some of the names include Gary Roberts, Brett Hull, Gary Suter, and Paul Ranheim. Other than them trading Brett Hull away, these were key players to the Flames 1989 Stanley Cup Victory over the dominant Montreal Canadiens. 

Loser - Minnesota North Stars - With twelve draft picks, only two players cracked the NHL and played exactly one-hundred and forty-two games which were Ken Hodge who put up eighty-seven points, and Kari Takko who was drafted a second time -- drafted by the Quebec Nordiques -- mostly as a back-up on the North Stars. This isn't the worst draft ever, but in this draft it sure is given their first-round pick barely cracked the NHL. 

1983

Winner - Buffalo Sabres - They didn't miss a beat in this draft, with fifteen draft picks only four didn't crack the NHL, most notably Tom Barrasso being one of the picks whose one of the best US goalies of all-time. Given they had three first-round picks they made the right selections with Adam Creighton and Normand Lacombe being the two after Barrasso. They also landed big names like Uwe Krupp, Christian Ruuttu, and John Tucker. 

Loser - Minnesota North Stars - Some could argue the Pittsburgh Penguins, but I think they did a good job given they had ten draft picks and had a loyal player who was with them who just happened to be Bob Errey. But what they didn't have was what the North Stars had which was the first overall pick, who they used to take Brian Lawton... over Tom Barasso, Steve Yzerman, Pat Lafontaine, and Sylvain Turgeon -- who believe it or not was a much better pick. Now, Minnesota had thirteen draft picks, where five players cracked the roster, and back to Brian Lawton, he didn't do much to get himself remembered in the NHL and was quickly forgotten. The other three have a total of thirty-three games played, while the other draft pick was Frank Musil who was a solid NHLer who was later traded to Calgary for Brian Glynn. This draft was the bigger bust for North Stars fans.  

1982

Winner - Hartford Whalers - Hartford wasn't bad at drafting players, and they landed a handfull of players such as Ray Ferraro, Ulf Samuelsson, Paul Lawless, Randy Gilhen, and Mark Patterson. Buffalo would've been my other choice, but when you get more players with less picks that's far more impressive. 

Loser - Los Angeles Kings - Total of seventy-seven games played between all their twelve picks. That's horrible and this was before the Gretzky era. This was one of the most embarrassing draft classes ever. Their best player was a fifth-rounder out of Sweden named Ulf Isaksson, who only had fifty games and twenty-two points. 

1981

Winner - Washington Capitals - They landed both Bobby Carpenter and Gaetan Duchesne who have a combined games played two-thousand total. And I would've said Montreal, except the Capitals had eight out of ten of the draft picks crack the NHL.

Loser - Philadelphia Flyers - Out of all thirteen of their picks, all played one hundred and-sixty-one games. I personally expect in a draft at least not only half should crack the NHL at least once, but they should exceed two-hundred games at least.

1980

Winner - Chicago Blackhawks - They had the most players of that whole draft play in the NHL. Some can argue Edmonton with Kurri and Coffey, but Chicago wins this because they drafted Denis Savard, Steve Larmer, Carey Wilson, and Steve Ludzik to name a couple which is just as much as the Oilers had make the NHL out of that draft.

Loser  - Minnesota North Stars - It seemed the North Stars weren't known for drafting players, but Don Beaupre was the best player they took out of that draft class and they traded him to the Capitals for a guy who never played a single game for their club, but did go onto play in the NHL for the San Jose Sharks. His name was Claudio Scremin. Their first-round pick, which is the one pick with the highest expectation, was Brad Palmer, a forward who only put up seventy points in one-hundred and sixty-eight games played. 

I decided to leave out the 1979 draft because a lot of teams did well given it was the WHA-NHL merger, some may argue Quebec, others would argue Edmonton. But if you ask me Quebec did the best job. 

Now, some teams changed for the better, or have gotten worse. But the team that I believe has done the best job in the long-run between 1980-2020 was the Ottawa Senators who have found many gems in the draft such as Pavol Demitra, Daniel Alfredsson, Sami Salo, Magnus Arvedson, Mike Fisher, Chris Kelly, Antoine Vermette, Ray Emery, Brooks Laich, Brian Elliot, Peter Regin, Erik Condra, Erik Karlsson, Jakob Silfverberg, Mark Stone, Jean-Gabriel Pageau, Ryan Dzingel, Chris Driedger, Ben Harpur, Drake Batherson, Mark Kastelic, Shane Pinto, and recently Tyler Klevin. Now, this is incredible because in the Eugene Melnyk era, it was a dark time and had lots of controversies surrounding the team, and decided to cut funds for scouting which goes to show how great of a job they did staying afloat. 

The one who did the worst job in the long-run was the Vancouver Canucks. I don't understand how they were that bad at drafting, even the odd years they'd find hidden gems like Cam Neely who was a native to the province of British Columbia, only to give him away to become a lifer with the Bruins who'd go onto beat the Canucks. But continued on by getting rid of Gustav Forsling who later turned out to be a stud with the Panthers.