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2017 NHL Draft Lottery rules affected with Las Vegas expansion team

By Dave Stevenson

Jun 26, 2015; Sunrise, FL, USA; A general view of the NHL shield logo before the first round of the 2015 NHL Draft at BB&T Center. Mandatory Credit: Steve Mitchell-USA TODAY Sports
Jun 26, 2015; Sunrise, FL, USA; A general view of the NHL shield logo before the first round of the 2015 NHL Draft at BB&T Center. Mandatory Credit: Steve Mitchell-USA TODAY Sports /
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How will Las Vegas and their new team affect the 2017 NHL Draft Lottery? 

With Las Vegas officially getting a new NHL team, there are now some questions as far as how it will affect the rest of the league moving forward. One of the more pressing questions was regarding the 2017 Draft Lottery and how the league would handle an expansion team like Vegas. Gary Bettman addressed this issue during his press conference before the league’s annual award extravaganza in Vegas.

Basically, Las Vegas will have an 11.5 percent chance of getting the first overall pick at the 2017 draft, the same chances that the team with the third-worst record will have. To make things easier for the new franchise, they will be guaranteed a first round pick within the first six picks and the third round pick in the second, third, fourth, fifth, sixth and seventh rounds. They will be joining the Western Conference, giving the Western Conference 15 teams compared to the Eastern Conference’s 16 teams. The league has announced that they do not have any immediate plans for realignment, though that could change very quickly if they decide to add another team.

Before the 2017 draft, they will likely have to have a front office, or at least a general manager or president of hockey operations, set up. The Foleys, who will be the majority owners of the new Las Vegas hockey team, will certainly have their options regarding their new front office. It’s a unique situation that general managers would like to be in.

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