Fansided

2017 NHL Draft Lottery odds

By Dave Stevenson

TORONTO - APRIL 7: NHL Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly holds up a NHL Draft lottery card April 7, 2008 at the TSN Studios in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. (Photo by Graig Abel/Getty Images for the NHL)
TORONTO - APRIL 7: NHL Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly holds up a NHL Draft lottery card April 7, 2008 at the TSN Studios in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. (Photo by Graig Abel/Getty Images for the NHL) /
facebooktwitterreddit

Here’s a full list of the odds each team has at the 2017 NHL Draft Lottery on Saturday. 

Getting a first overall pick can forever change a franchise. Just ask the Pittsburgh Penguins, who lucked into Mario Lemieux and Sidney Crosby. Or how about the Washington Capitals and Alex Ovechkin? The Edmonton Oilers and Connor McDavid are another great example. On Saturday April 29, the 2017 NHL Draft lottery will give another team a chance to save their future.

With the worst regular season record, the Colorado Avalanche have the best odds. Odds are determined by regular season record, with one exception. The Vegas Golden Knights, an expansion team, will have the same chances of winning as the Arizona Coyotes. With 30 teams, it was much easier to calculate the odds. However, now that it’s 31, this complicates things a bit. Here’s a list of the chances each team has getting the top pick (rounded up to the nearest tenth).

Colorado Avalanche: 18.0 percent
Vancouver Canucks: 12.1 percent
Vegas Golden Knights: 10.3 percent
Arizona Coyotes: 10.3 percent
New Jersey Devils: 8.5 percent
Buffalo Sabres: 7.6 percent
Detroit Red Wings: 6.7 percent
Dallas Stars: 5.8 percent
Florida Panthers: 5.4 percent
Los Angeles Kings: 4.5 percent
Carolina Hurricanes: 3.2 percent
Winnipeg Jets: 2.7 percent
Philadelphia Flyers: 2.2 percent
Tampa Bay Lightning: 1.8 percent
New York Islanders: 0.9 percent

So who should non-lottery teams root for to win the draft lottery? That depends. If you want the worst team to get it, root for the Avalanche. But if you hate tanking, the Golden Knights and Devils are viable early options. The Hurricanes are a very good team who are a goaltender and a franchise center away from contending. Nolan Patrick would make Carolina legitimate contenders.

Next: Best hockey player from each state

If you’re feeling merciful, the Sabres deserve a top pick, as do the Red Wings. However, if you truly embrace chaos, hope for the Stars or Lightning to win the lottery. That would shake things up quite a bit.

Home/NHL Draft