will determine the drafting order of the top 16 picks in the first round of the 2021 nhl draft. includes the 15 teams that failed to qualify for the 2021 stanley cup playoffs and the seattle kraken expansion, which will begin play next season.
The draft will take place virtually with the first round on July 23 and rounds 2-7 on July 24.
As part of the lottery drawing changes announced on March 23, the number of drawings has been reduced from three to two. the first draw will determine which team receives no. 1 pick and the second draw will determine which team gets no. 2 selections.
reducing the number of draws ensures that the team that finished last in the nhl standings, the buffalo sabers, will pick no less than no. 3.
Under the old system, which had been in place since 2016, the team that finished last in the nhl standings could drop to no. 4. What happened in 2017 (Colorado Avalanche), 2019 (Ottawa Senators), and 2020 (Detroit Red Wings).
The odds of the 15 teams that failed to qualify for the playoffs are based on the reverse order of the regular season standings, with the Sabers receiving the best odds (16.6 percent). To accommodate the addition of Seattle, the odds for the other 15 teams participating in the lottery have been reduced proportionally from the odds used in the 2020 nhl draft lottery.
the kraken enters the lottery as no. 3, as the Vegas Golden Knights did in their inaugural lottery draw in 2017. Seattle will have the same odds (10.3 percent) as No. 4, the New Jersey Devils, who finished with the third-worst regular season record.
kraken are guaranteed to choose nothing less than no. 5 in the first round.
The Arizona Coyotes will forfeit their first-round pick as part of the sanctions, he announced Aug. 1. 26, 2020, for violating the nhl’s combined tryout policy during the 2019-20 season. the coyotes also had to give up their second round pick in the 2020 nhl draft.
if arizona wins any of the lottery drawings, a new drawing will be held.
defense owen power (university of michigan), defenseman luke hughes (united states national hockey team development program) and forward dylan guenther (edmonton, western hockey league) were the top three prospects in the draft in the latest nhl.com rankings.
the odds for the first drawing of the 2021 nhl draft lottery are as follows:
1. buffalo sables, 16.6 percent
2. anaheim ducks, 12.1 percent
3. Seattle Kraken, 10.3 percent
4. new jersey devils, 10.3 percent
5. columbus blue jackets, 8.5 percent
6. Detroit Red Wings, 7.6%
7. san jose sharks, 6.7 percent
8. kings of angels, 5.8 percent
9. Vancouver Canucks, 5.4 percent
10. senators from ottawa, 4.5 percent
11. Arizona coyotes, 3.1 percent
12. Chicago Blackhawks, 2.7 percent
13. calgary flames, 2.2 percent
14. philadelphia pamphlets, 1.8 percent
15. dallas stars, 1.4 percent
16. new york rangers, 1.0 percent
Starting in 2022, two other changes will be implemented in the lottery draft:
– teams will not be able to move up more than 10 positions if they win one of the lottery draws.
– teams cannot win the lottery more than twice in a five-year period. lottery winnings before 2022 will not be counted towards this total.
the 2022 nhl draft lottery will include the 16 teams that do not qualify for the playoffs next season.
The restriction that teams move up more than 10 places in the first round means that the bottom 11 teams in the standings will be eligible to win no. 1 pick the bottom 12 teams would then be eligible for no. 2 choose if one of them does not win the first draw.
The NHL said the changes will reduce the likelihood that the worst-performing team will fall down the draft order and not retain the right to no. 1 pick; reduce the magnitude of any possible drop in the draft order for the team with the worst finish; limit the number of teams eligible to win the no. 1 selection (based on final regular season standings); and limit the number of times the same team can benefit from winning a lottery draw.
the 2021 nhl lottery draft will take place at the nhl network studio in secaucus, new jersey.