from Frank Seravalli of TSN,

It has been 17,857 days since the Toronto Maple Leafs last won the Stanley Cup.

Officially eliminated from Stanley Cup playoff contention on Friday night for the 10th time in 11 seasons, the only numbers that matter are the ping pong balls leading up to April 30’s Draft Lottery.

The Maple Leafs have the worst points percentage in the NHL - even with four games in-hand on the 29th place Oilers. That gives the Leafs the best odds at the moment to pick first in June’s draft: a one in five shot.

But the NHL’s new lottery format - with three separate draws for the top three picks - doesn’t exactly reward the team that finishes last. That’s why the NHL didn’t delve into discussions about limiting the number of repeat lottery winners at last week’s GM meetings in Florida, allowing these new odds to play out.

This new system will give Toronto (or the 30th place team) basically a 50-50 shot to pick inside the top three. That's it.

In other words, the Maple Leafs would have almost an equal chance at picking fourth as they do grabbing one of the top three spots.

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