NHL Draft Lottery Odds: Who Has The Best Chance of Winning the No. 1 Pick?
By Josh Hill
The NHL Draft Lottery is upon us, which means 14 non-playoff teams will be holding their breath to see if they get drawn as the winner of this year’s top draft choice. The drawing will be held tonight at 8 p.m. ET, but the real question on everyone’s mind is who will end up winning the lottery and be awarded the No. 1 overall pick in the 2013 NHL Entry Draft?
Unlike football, the NHL uses an NBA-style lottery system that weights the worst teams in the league with the best chances of winning the top pick. But unlike the NBA, it’s not a completely random event and there’s more to it than how many balls you have. The NHL takes into account how many times you’ve missed the playoffs in recent years and uses that as another tool to increase the chances of the worst teams in the league. If the Chicago Blackhawks had missed the playoffs this year and finished tied with the Edmonton Oilers as the worst team in the league, the Oilers would have the edge due to the fact they’ve missed the playoffs the last seven seasons while the Blackhawks won the Stanley Cup three years ago and have been to the playoffs consistently.
Another rule unlike basketball is that in past years the winner of the lottery was awarded a four spot bump up the draft board, not the No. 1 pick. Only the bottom five teams in the league were eligible to move into the No. 1 overall pick. This usually wasn’t a problem, but in the Lottery’s first season the Los Angeles Kings were the No. 8 team in the draft and moved up to the 4th spot after winning the lottery.
This year, thanks to the lockout, the NHL is changing the rule so that any of the 14 non-playoff teams are eligible to win the No. 1 pick regardless of their record. Here’s a quick look at what the odds are for tonight’s NHL Draft Lottery:
| Position | Team (Points) | Odds |
| 1. | Florida Panthers (36) | 25 percent |
| 2. | Colorado Avalanche (39) | 18.8 percent |
| 3. | Tampa Bay Lightning (40) | 14.2 percent |
| 4. | Nashville Predators (41) | 10.7 percent |
| 5. | Carolina Hurricanes (42) | 8.1 percent |
| 6. | Calgary Flames (42) | 6.2 percent |
| 7. | Edmonton Oilers (45) | 4.7 percent |
| 8. | Buffalo Sabres (48) | 2.7 percent |
| 9. | New Jersey Devils (48) | 2.7 percent |
| 10. | Dallas Stars (48) | 2.1 percent |
| 11. | Philadelphia Flyers (49) | 1.5 percent |
| 12. | Phoenix Coyotes (51) | 1.1 percent |
| 13. | Winnipeg Jets (51) | 0.8 percent |
| 14. | Columbus Blue Jackets (55) | 0.5 percent |
The winner of the lottery will move into the No. 1 slot in the draft order and the rest of the teams will pick from worst to best according to their final points total. Be sure to stay tuned to FanSided all night long as we bring you all the information you need to know about tonight’s NHL Draft Lottery.