from Mike Johnston of Sportsnet,
The Montreal Canadiens carry the best odds this year after finishing a league-worst 22-49-11 only one season after a trip to the Stanley Cup Final. The Canadiens have held the No. 1 pick an NHL record five times, however all those instances occurred between 1963 and 1980.
The last time a Canadian franchise besides the Edmonton Oilers or Toronto Maple Leafs had the top pick was in 1996 when the Ottawa Senators used it to take Chris Phillips.
WHAT’S DIFFERENT ABOUT THIS YEAR’S LOTTERY?
The draft lottery underwent a couple tweaks to its format in 2021. Not only was there the addition of a 32nd franchise, the Seattle Kraken, but the NHL downsized to two lotteries instead of three. There had been separate draws held for each of the top three picks from 2016 to 2020.
Two new changes go into effect this year and the main alteration is a big one. Teams will now be restricted from moving up more than 10 spots in the pre-draft order. This means that unlike in the preceding years, not all teams participating in the lottery are eligible to win one of the top two picks. The main purpose for this change was to ensure the team that finishes last in the standings in the regular season won’t be slated to pick any worse than third overall.
Also going forward, no team can win the top pick in the draft lottery more than twice in a five-year span. Whichever team wins the No. 1 pick on Tuesday will only be eligible to do so one more time between 2023 and 2026. The Oilers, Buffalo Sabres and New Jersey Devils each won the draft lottery multiple times over the past decade.
I'll have a post going up at 5:45pm so you folks can discuss the lottery picks.
Create an Account
In order to leave a comment, please create an account.