For the first time, the 2016 NHL Draft Lottery will assign the top three slots in the first round of the NHL Draft – a change from prior years, when the Draft Lottery was used to determine the winner of the first overall selection exclusively.

As a result of this change, the team earning the fewest points during the regular season will no longer be guaranteed, at worst, the second overall pick. That club could fall as low as fourth overall.

Three draws will be held: the first drawing will determine the club selecting first overall, the second drawing will determine the club selecting second overall and the third drawing will determine the club selecting third overall.

Once a club is assigned a pick through the Draft Lottery Drawing, it is ineligible for further participation in the Drawing; there will be a re-draw for any pick that otherwise would be assigned to a team that already has been selected.

The allocation of odds for the first drawing will be the same as for the 2015 NHL Draft Lottery. Based on the final League standings from the 2015-16 NHL regular season, the allocation of odds for the first drawing of the 2016 NHL Draft Lottery is as follows:

Non-Playoff Teams
(Fewest Points to Most) Odds
Toronto Maple Leafs 20.0%
Edmonton Oilers 13.5%
Vancouver Canucks 11.5%
Columbus Blue Jackets 9.5%
Calgary Flames 8.5%
Winnipeg Jets 7.5%
Arizona Coyotes 6.5%
Buffalo Sabres 6.0%
Montreal Canadiens 5.0%
Colorado Avalanche 3.5%
New Jersey Devils 3.0%
Ottawa Senators 2.5%
Carolina Hurricanes 2.0%
Boston Bruins 1.0%

The odds for the remaining teams will increase on a proportionate basis for the second drawing, based on which club wins the first drawing, and again for the third drawing, based on which club wins the second drawing.

The 11 clubs not selected in the Draft Lottery Drawing will be assigned NHL Draft selections 4 through 14 in inverse order of regular-season points.