The big prize in the NHL Draft lottery is Connor Bedard. Will the Blackhawks hit the jackpot?

With just a few days remaining in the NHL regular season, fans of teams like Winnipeg, Calgary, Florida, Pittsburgh and the New York Islanders are living and dying with victory and defeat.

Every point is one step closer to a playoff berth, every setback a step closer to elimination.

Then there's the other end of the spectrum, where the drama's not quite as intense yet still holds quite a bit of intrigue. Whichever team finishes last in the standings has the best chance to land the No. 1 pick, which is certain to be generational talent Connor Bedard.

The "race to the bottom" has been fascinating to watch in recent days. Here's how things look heading into the final four games:

• Anaheim, which has lost 10 straight, is in last with 56 points and 23 regulation victories. If the Ducks stay here, they will have a 25.5% chance of winning the draft lottery, which is May 8. The 32nd-placed team is also guaranteed to have no worse than the No. 3 pick as teams cannot fall more than two spots.

• Columbus also has 56 points but would currently finish in 31st because of its 24 regulation victories (this is the first tiebreaker). The No. 31 squad has a 13.5% chance of winning the draft lottery.

• The Blackhawks also have 56 points and would finish 30th because of their 25 regulation victories. The team finishing here has a 11.5% chance of ending up with the No. 1 pick.

• The San Jose Sharks (60 points) should be far enough ahead of Anaheim, Columbus and Chicago to finish in 29th, giving them a 9.5% chance of capturing the top pick.

It is important to remember that 11 teams can move up to No. 1. The squad in 22nd place has a 3% chance of winning the lottery.

While Hawks fans will no doubt be rooting for them lose out, the coaches and players are not obsessing over where they end up in the standings.

"I have full trust with everybody (in management) to do their jobs," coach Luke Richardson said. "They did a great job last year. No matter where we end up ... they're going to do a great job this year.

"So why worry about it? Our job is to coach the players. Their job is to do their individual jobs on the ice. ... So as an organization we have to believe that when you do the right things, the right things will fall into place."

The lottery has changed drastically over the few years. From 1995-2012 teams could move up only four spots in the draft order. Think about how much the Hawks' franchise history would have changed if they'd finished sixth-worst that year instead of fifth-worst. The Hawks would not have been able to move up to No. 1 - which is what happened when they beat the 8% odds to do so - and draft Patrick Kane.

The current system is a fairly solid one, although I'd like to see the odds of the worst 3-5 teams tighten up. The NBA does it right, with the worst three teams all having equal 14% odds of winning the lottery. The next two squads have 12.5% and 10.5% odds.

This would seem to eliminate a complete tank job at the end of the season.

Yet, Ducks coach Dallas Eakins cringed a bit when I proposed this idea to him over a month ago.

"The whole 'tanking' thing - I've never heard a management member or coach or player ever use it," Eakins said. "It's something that's been put out there by people who are not in organizations and not in dressing rooms. The job of management is to look down the road. That's what management does. The coaches and players, their jobs are to continue to develop and get better and to win. It's as simple as that.

"I'm kind of the mindset of I like to toe the league line. Our league puts a lot of thought into how they do everything. In the end, you'll end up with whatever draft pick you get. ... Where you end up finishing is where you end up finishing."

Now, if the Hawks do end up selecting No. 1, then go right ahead and plan a Big Bedard Bash for June 28, the first day of the draft. This kid is going to be special, and just like Connor McDavid, Sidney Crosby and Kane, he's going to instantly supercharge any rebuild.

Bedard scored a ridiculous 71 goals and dished out 72 assists in 57 games for the Regina Pats of the WHL (juniors). He also has 8 goals and 5 assists in four playoff games.

"Connor Bedard is an entirely different conversation with respect to any other player in the 2023 draft class and the margin is significant," vice president of NHL Central Scouting Dan Marr told NHL.com.

It is believed that Michigan forward Adam Fantilli will go second. The left-shot forward racked up 65 points (30 goals) in just 36 games for the Wolverines.

There is some debate, however, that Swedish center Leo Carlsson or even Russian winger Matvei Michkov may be the better pick. One issue with Michkov is he signed a KHL contract that runs through 2025-26.

No matter what, those are your franchise-altering prospects.

As fascinating as the final week will be to see how the lottery odds shake out, it will be equally fascinating to see who finishes last and is locked into a top-4 pick.

Right now, the Hawks could draft anywhere from 1-5. The last thing fans want to see is for them to drop to fifth - so root hard for more losses as well as a victory or two for Anaheim and Columbus.

Race to the bottom

Here is each the bottom four teams' finishing schedule and their current odds of winning the draft lottery:

Team Record Pts. G79 G80 G81 G82 Odds

Anaheim 23-45-10 56 at Ariz. vs. Colo. vs. Van. vs. L.A. 25.5%

Columbus 24-46-8 56 vs. NYR at Phil. vs. Pitt. vs. Buff. 13.5%

HAWKS 25-47-6 56 at Sea. vs. Minn. at Pitt. vs. Phil. 11.5%

San Jose 22-40-16 60 vs. Edm. at Winn. at Calg. at Edm. 9.5%

Note: The bottom 11 teams can all move up to the No. 1 pick. The team in 22nd place has a 3.0% chance.