Seravalli wrote up an article that included 32 bold predictions for the upcoming season on Monday -- and predicted the Columbus Blue Jackets would win the lottery "with a little help from Gaudreau."

Fans online were quick to call him out  -- and even though he revised the piece multiple times, people were still calling it "disgusting."

After the backlash, The Daily Faceoff writer posted a mea culpa to his X account ... saying, "What I wrote and how my poor choice of words was received was not intended to create any hurt or anger."

"Especially as a member of the Philly hockey community, I've been absolutely gutted by John and Matty's passing -- like so many around the hockey world," he said. "This tragedy is a difficult topic we're all grappling with and what I wrote was never intended to add to that. Simply put, I should not have tied the two together. I am sorry and I promise to be better."

Even though Seravalli admitted he messed up ... the reactions to his apology have been mixed, with some saying it was just as bad as his original comment.

Johnny and his brother, Matthew, were killed by a suspected drunk driver while they were riding bikes on a rural road in New Jersey back in August.