The EliteProspects Rinkside 2021 NHL Draft Ranking

Whatever one's position on intentionally tanking a season for the bounty of a high draft pick, I think everyone can agree that this might not be the year to do it. The juice, as the saying goes, might not be worth the squeeze.

"I haven't seen anything like this in a while," one high-ranking NHL scout told EliteProspects in December. "There isn't a No. 1 pick. I mean, someone is going to go first overall, but there isn't that kind of talent, where in other years you've had two or three first overall talents."

"Does anyone really excite you in this draft?" one Western Conference executive asked me. "I'm not sure anyone really excites me at all," we agreed.

I could pull another handful of quotes from any number of the conversations I've shared with league sources since the start of the season, b