Three straight defensemen were initially picked to close out the top five picks in the first round of the '98 draft lottery. After Stuart was picked third overall in the first round of the 1998 draft by the Sharks in San Jose, the Vancouver Canucks continued the run of selecting physical defenders for the blue line with Bryan Allen from the Oshawa Generals in the OHL.
Instead of picking Allen fourth overall in the first round of this hypothetical redrafting of the 1998 lottery in the NHL, the Canucks opt for drafting Stanley Cup-winning winger Alex Tanguay.
Tanguay moves into the top 10, up from the No. 12 overall draft pick in the first round by the Colorado Avalanche from 1998, to be selected in the top five by the Canucks. Tanguay was one of just four forwards from the 1998 draft class with over 1,000 games played in the regular season and over 800 career points in the NHL.
The Anaheim Ducks finished the run of drafting three straight defensemen by teams from the West in the top five of the 1998 draft lottery in the first round by selecting Vitaly Vishnevski at No. 5 overall.
Left winger Simon Gagne was originally picked 22nd overall in the first round of the 1998 draft by the Philadelphia Flyers. Gagne had back-to-back 40-goal seasons in the prime of his career in Philly in the mid-2000s decade (2005-2007).
Instead of picking Vishnevski fifth overall in the first round of the 1998 draft, Gagne moves up 17 picks to be selected by the Ducks to round out the top five picks in this lottery redraft.
Had Gagne played for the Ducks early in his career in the mid-2000s decade, he could've won a Stanley Cup in the Pacific Division early on in his NHL journey. Gagne won a Stanley Cup Championship as a veteran wing member of the Kings in the early 2010s in the 2012 postseason in the West.
The Flames originally picked right-winger Rico Fata from the OHL's London Knights with the sixth overall pick in the first round of the 1998 draft lottery.
Fata was the only forward picked in the top 10 of the 1998 draft lottery in the first round who played under 250 career games in the regular season.
Instead of picking Fata sixth overall in the first round of the 1998 draft lottery, the Flames get a quality career defenseman in longtime Montreal Canadiens veteran and All-Star Andrei Markov.
Some of the best defensemen with the most career longevity in the NHL in their pro careers were picked in the late rounds of the 1998 draft class. Markov was the only defenseman from this draft class who scored over 500 career points and had 100 career goals.
Markov was a steal for the Canadiens in the late rounds of the 1998 draft, originally selected 162nd overall in the sixth round by Montreal. Markov played his entire career for the Habs. He was selected to the NHL All-Star Game in 2008 and 2009.