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The 2023-24 NHL regular season has ended, and now it's time for the NHL Draft Lottery to decide which teams will have the best odds of getting the No. 1 pick in the draft.
The lottery helps create a fair chance for all teams, especially those at the bottom of the standings, to secure the top pick.
In the upcoming draft slated for June, the San Jose Sharks will have the best chances at 25.5 % to draft Boston University forward Macklin Celebrini. The Sharks ended their regular season by finishing at the bottom of the league (32nd place) with 47 points in 82 games.
Meanwhile, the Chicago Blackhawks, who selected Connor Bedard with the No. 1 pick last year via a lottery after finishing at the bottom of the league, have the second-best odds at 13.5% at this year's lottery. The Hawks finished the regular season in 31st place this time.
The Anaheim Ducks, who finished seven points above the Hawks, have an 11.5% chance of drafting Celebrini. The Sharks, Blackhawks and Ducks are the three teams with the highest odds of drafting the No. 1 pick.
Apart from the aforementioned three teams, the Columbus Blue Jackets (9.5%), Montreal Canadiens (8.5%) and the newly relocated Utah franchise will have a 7.5% chance of a shot at drafting the No. 1 pick.
How is the NHL Draft Lottery determined?
In the NHL Draft Lottery, only the bottom 11 seeds have a chance at the No. 1 pick. The bottom-placed team has an 18.5% chance of winning the No. 1 pick.
The additional percentages from the five non-playoff teams that didn't finish in the bottom 11 are added to the 32nd-place team. This increases the 32nd-place team's chance to win the lottery for the No. 1 pick to 25.5%.
This redistribution of chances helps balance the odds and gives teams not in the bottom 11 a chance at landing the top spot.
According to the NHL.com rankings, Macklin Celebrini (F), Artyom Levshunon (D) and Cayden Lindstrom (F) are projected to be the first three picks in the 2024 NHL draft.
