The Stanley Cup playoffs are in full swing with the second round underway, but the focus for part of Saturday at least will be the 15 teams that didn’t make the postseason. The first half or so of the 2018 NHL Draft will be determined on Saturday (7:30 p.m. ET, NBC), including a lottery to determine the top three picks.
NHL Draft Lottery 2018: Time, TV/streaming info, odds to win the No. 1 pick
Photo by Kevin Hoffman/Getty Images
Swedish defenseman Rasmus Dahlin is widely expected to be the top pick in the 2018 NHL draft. Dahlin just turned 18 in April and in February at 17 was the youngest hockey player at the Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang.
Teams
The Buffalo Sabres finished with the worst record in the league in 2018 with 62 points (25-45-12), giving them the best chance at that No. 1 overall pick, at 18.5%. The Ottawa Sentaors (67 points) and Arizona Coyotes (70 points) finished with the second- and third-worst records but that doesn’t necessarily mean they will get the top three picks.
All 15 teams that didn’t make the playoffs technically have a shot at No. 1, though the Florida Panthers (96 points) at 1% have a worse chance than the Montreal Canadiens (71 points) at 9.5%, for instance. A drawing will be held for the top three picks, with picks four through 15 determined by inverse order of record.
No. 1 pick odds
Team | Points | #1 odds |
|---|---|---|
| Buffalo Sabres | 62 | 18.5% |
| Ottawa Senators | 67 | 13.5% |
| Arizona Coyotes | 70 | 11.5% |
| Montreal Canadiens | 71 | 9.5% |
| Detroit Red Wings | 73 | 8.5% |
| Vancouver Canucks | 73 | 7.5% |
| Chicago Blackhawks | 76 | 6.5% |
| New York Rangers | 77 | 6.0% |
| Edmonton Oilers | 78 | 5.0% |
| New York Islanders | 80 | 3.5% |
| Carolina Hurricanes | 83 | 3.0% |
| New York Islanders* | 84 | 2.5% |
| Dallas Stars | 92 | 2.0% |
| St. Louis Blues | 94 | 1.5% |
| Florida Panthers | 96 | 1.0% |
The reveal
We will find out picks 4-15 first, with the NHL Draft lottery show on NBC at 7:30 p.m. ET. The top three picks won’t be revealed until the second intermission of Game 2 between the Vegas Golden Knights and San Jose Sharks, a game that starts at 8 p.m. and is also on NBC.
Picks 16-27 will be known after the second round of the playoffs are completed, and the final four teams alive will later determine the order of picks 27-31.
The NHL Draft will be held from June 22-23 in Dallas.
Picks affected by trades
The Calgary Flames finished with the 12th-worst record in the NHL with 84 points, but their first-round pick belongs to the New York Islanders thanks to last June’s trade for Travis Hamonic.
The Senators finished with the second-worst record so the worst pick they can get is fifth. By staying in the top 10, they don’t have to send their first-rounder to the Colorado Avalanche from the Matt Duchene trade. Instead, Colorado gets Ottawa’s first-round pick in 2019.
If the St. Louis Blues’ pick is in the top 10, they keep the selection. If not, their pick goes to the Philadelphia Flyers to complete the Brayden Schenn trade from June 2017.
Draft lottery TV & streaming info
Time: 7:30 p.m. ET (picks 4-15); second intermission of Vegas/San Jose (picks 1-3)
TV: NBC
Streaming: NBC Sports
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