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NHL Draft Lottery 2021: Date, Full List of Team Odds Revealed for Draw
May 20, 2021
The Buffalo Sabres struggled all season on the way to a 15-34-7 record, but they at least have the best odds at landing the No. 1 overall pick of the 2021 NHL draft.
On Wednesday, the NHL announced the draft lottery will take place June 2 to determine the order of the first 16 picks of the first round.
The Sabres have the best chance at the No. 1 pick at 16.6 percent and are followed by the Anaheim Ducks, Seattle Kraken, New Jersey Devils and Columbus Blue Jackets in the top five:
The league's announcement explained there will be a lottery for the first pick and a lottery for the second pick with the remaining picks Nos. 3-16 being determined by an inverse order of regular-season points.
There will be a redraw if Arizona wins either of the lottery draws, as the NHL stripped it of its 2020 second-round pick and 2021 first-round pick in August 2020 as sanctions for violating the league's combine testing policy during the 2019-20 campaign.
This year's draft is also the first that features the expansion Kraken.
Seattle has the same odds as the No. 4 seed in the lottery, which is exactly what the NHL did for the Vegas Golden Knights in 2017.
Whichever team wins the lottery will have the opportunity to draft a potential franchise-altering prospect.
Notable players such as Marc-Andre Fleury, Alexander Ovechkin, Sidney Crosby, Patrick Kane, Steven Stamkos, John Tavares, Connor McDavid and Auston Matthews were all No. 1 picks, underscoring what type of difference-maker could be waiting in the wings this year.
Ryan Wagman of McKeen's Hockey (h/t Sean Leahy of NBC Sports) projected Michigan defenseman Owen Power as the No. 1 pick.
This year's NHL draft is scheduled for July 23 and 24.