When is the 2016 NHL Draft Lottery?

Now that the regular season is over for all non-playoff teams, the focus is set on the NHL Draft Lottery.

The odds have been set for the NHL Draft Lottery, and now all teams can do is pray for the first overall pick. Of course, this year’s lottery is different from previous ones because, for the first time ever, there will be three separate lotteries for the top three overall picks. The team that finishes last still has the best odds of picking first, but they can pick as low as fourth this year whereas before, the worst they could pick was second.

It’s the NHL’s version of trying to discourage tanking, and while Auston Matthews is a prized asset this year, he doesn’t have the same hype surrounding him as Jack Eichel and Connor McDavid. That’s why, even though the Toronto Maple Leafs set out to finish last, they still finished 12 points above the Buffalo Sabres last year. And if they miss out on Matthews, a consolation prize of either Jesse Puljujarvi or Patrik Laine, who lit up the World Juniors, awaits.

Fans of any non-playoff teams, which includes all Canadian teams for the first time since 1970, will want to know when the Draft Lottery will occur, so that they get a sense of where they will pick. Well, according to Damien Cox and Elliotte Friedman, it will take place on April 30 in the midst of the NHL Playoffs.

As for what time it will start, they will likely go the same route as last year, which was doing the Draft Lottery before the first playoff game that day. Depending on when that will be, look for the Draft Lottery to start at around 7:00 or 7:30 p.m. ET as the fates of this year’s prospects are put in the hands of ping-pong balls.

Be sure to visit the NHL Draft section of our site to stay up to date as it draws nearer.