Who has the best 1st round picks

Posted 11:35 PM ET | Comments 1

The big talk lately is all about the Toronto Maple Leafs trading away this years and next years first round draft pick to the Boston Bruins, some fans have accepted this, some fans are not sure what to think and others are mad as hell based on the Leafs current position in the NHL. I have decided to do some research on a team by team basis to see which teams in the NHL have drafted the best first rounders between the 1996-2006 season whether they are on the team that drafted them or have been traded it does not change the fact that they are still first round selections. We do know that some of the current teams in the league do not go back that far but we will use the time that they have been into the league to do our comparison on a percentage basis and of course do not include any goaltenders stats in our comparisons but will let you all know if the team drafted a goalie in first round. The statistics are up to last season and do not include any statistics from this season.

Quick Legend: APPG= Average Points Per Game, APPP= Average Points Per Player

Anaheim Ducks

Draft from 1996-2006
Players Drafted: 11
Games Played: 3028
Total Points: 1126
APPG: 0.37
APPP: 102

Atlanta Thrashers

Draft from 1999-2006
Players Drafted: 9 (1 Goalie)
Games Played: 2181
Total Points: 1506
APPG: 0.69
APPP: 188

Boston Bruins

Draft from 1996-2006
Players Drafted: 11 (1 Goalie)
Games Played: 2931
Total Points: 1703
APPG: 0.58
APPP: 170

Buffalo Sabres

Draft from 1996-2006
Players Drafted: 12 (1 Goalie)
Games Played: 2293
Total Points: 908
APPG: 0.40
APPP: 83

Calgary Flames

Draft from 1996-2006
Players Drafted: 11 (2 Goalies)
Games Played: 2180
Total Points: 934
APPG: 0.43
APPP: 104

Carolina Hurricanes

Draft from 1997-2006
Players Drafted: 9 (1 Goalie)
Games Played: 1251
Total Points: 611
APPG: 0.49
APPP: 76

Chicago Black Hawks

Draft from 1996-2006
Players Drafted: 12
Games Played: 2610
Total Points: 1066
APPG: 0.41
APPP: 89

Colorado Avalanche

Draft from 1996-2006
Players Drafted: 11
Games Played: 2786
Total Points: 1102
APPG: 0.40
APPP: 100

Columbus Blue Jackets

Draft from 2000-2006
Players Drafted: 7 (1 Goalie)
Games Played: 1513
Total Points: 773
APPG: 0.51
APPP: 129

Dallas Stars

Draft from 1996-2006
Players Drafted: 8
Games Played: 1431
Total Points: 649
APPG: 0.45
APPP: 81

Detroit Red Wings

Draft from 1996-2006
Players Drafted: 4
Games Played: 614
Total Points: 184
APPG: 0.30
APPP: 46

Edmonton Oilers

Draft from 1996-2006
Players Drafted: 13 (1 Goalie)
Games Played: 1445
Total Points: 652
APPG: 0.45
APPP: 54

Florida Panthers

Draft from 1996-2006
Players Drafted: 11
Games Played: 2552
Total Points: 1073
APPG: 0.42
APPP: 98

Los Angeles Kings

Draft from 1996-2006
Players Drafted: 12 (1 Goalie)
Games Played: 2608
Total Points: 1424
APPG: 0.55
APPP: 129

Minnesota Wild

Draft from 2000-2006
Players Drafted: 7
Games Played: 1746
Total Points: 1062
APPG: 0.61
APPP: 151

Montreal Canadiens

Draft from 1996-2006
Players Drafted: 11 (1 Goalie)
Games Played: 1924
Total Points: 622
APPG: 0.32
APPP: 62

Nashville Predators

Draft from 1998-2006
Players Drafted: 8 (1 Goalie)
Games Played: 2365
Total Points: 1141
APPG: 0.48
APPP: 163

New Jersey Devils

Draft from 1996-2006
Players Drafted: 11 (1 Goalie)
Games Played: 2110
Total Points: 1135
APPG: 0.54
APPP: 114

New York Islanders

Draft from 1996-2006
Players Drafted: 14 (2 Goalies)
Games Played: 3491
Total Points: 1411
APPG: 0.40
APPP: 118

New York Rangers

Draft from 1996-2006
Players Drafted: 10 (2 Goalies)
Games Played: 1133
Total Points: 331
APPG: 0.29
APPP: 41

Ottawa Senators

Draft from 1996-2006
Players Drafted: 12 (1 Goalie)
Games Played: 3917
Total Points: 2167
APPG: 0.55
APPP: 197

Philadelphia Flyers

Draft from 1996-2006
Players Drafted: 10 (1 Goalie)
Games Played: 3156
Total Points: 1934
APPG: 0.61
APPP: 215

Phoenix Coyotes

Draft from 1996-2006
Players Drafted: 12 (1 Goalie)
Games Played: 1777
Total Points: 851
APPG: 0.48
APPP: 77

Pittsburgh Penguins

Draft from 1996-2006
Players Drafted: 11 (2 Goalies)
Games Played: 2111
Total Points: 1318
APPG: 0.62
APPP: 146

San Jose Sharks

Draft from 1996-2006
Players Drafted: 12
Games Played: 4331
Total Points: 1957
APPG: 0.45
APPP: 163

St Louis Blues

Draft from 1996-2006
Players Drafted: 9 (1 Goalie)
Games Played: 1601
Total Points: 543
APPG: 0.34
APPP: 68

Tampa Bay Lightning

Draft from 1996-2006
Players Drafted: 8 (1 Goalie)
Games Played: 1780
Total Points: 985
APPG: 0.55
APPP: 141

Toronto Maple Leafs

Draft from 1996-2006
Players Drafted: 8 (1 Goalie)
Games Played: 1432
Total Points: 791
APPG: 0.55
APPP: 113

Vancouver Canucks

Draft from 1996-2006
Players Drafted: 11 (1 Goalie)
Games Played: 2654
Total Points: 1348
APPG: 0.51
APPP: 135

Washington Capitals

Draft from 1996-2006
Players Drafted: 16 (1 Goalie)
Games Played: 2999
Total Points: 1453
APPG: 0.48
APPP: 97

What I easily noticed is that the Red Wings had the least first rounders with 4 in the span and have won four cups from 1996 until the present time the most.

The team with the most first rounders in the span was the Washington Capitals with 16.

The team with the most first rounders with games played is the San Jose Sharks with 4331 the team with the lowest is the Detroit Red Wings with 614.

The team with the most first rounders in points is the Ottawa Senators with 2167 the lowest is the Detroit Red Wings with 184.

The team with the best APPG was the Atlanta Thrashers with 0.69 and the lowest was the New York Rangers with 0.29.

The team with the best APPP was the Philadelphia Flyers with 215 and the lowest was the New York Rangers with 41.

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