NHL Lottery 2013: Teams Desperate for an Enhanced Position in NHL Draft

With the NHL lottery offering unprecedented ability for teams to move up in draft position, there will be franchises vigilant in rubbing rabbits' feet, picking four-leaf clovers and eating Lucky Charms for every meal as they hope for the one thing that can bring an end to their futility: landing a stud in the 2013 NHL Draft. 

For the first time, teams in the lottery will be able to jump all the way from the bottom to the top. Of course, if they don't, they will be locked into their order of finish. As I'm sure you've noticed over the years, the difference in talent between the first player taken in the draft and, say, the 10th is huge. 

I'll highlight three franchises that are the most desperate for this good fortune, but, first, check out the odds each team has of landing the first pick in this draft. 

Lottery Odds (via NHL.com)

Position	Team (Points)	Odds
1.	Florida Panthers (36)	25 percent
2.	Colorado Avalanche (39)	18.8 percent
3.	Tampa Bay Lightning (40)	14.2 percent
4.	Nashville Predators (41)	10.7 percent
5.	Carolina Hurricanes (42)	8.1 percent
6.	Calgary Flames (42)	6.2 percent
7.	Edmonton Oilers (45)	4.7 percent
8.	Buffalo Sabres (48)	2.7 percent
9.	New Jersey Devils (48)	2.7 percent
10.	Dallas Stars (48)	2.1 percent
11.	Philadelphia Flyers (49)	1.5 percent
12.	Phoenix Coyotes (51)	1.1 percent
13.	Winnipeg Jets (51)	0.8 percent
14.	Columbus Blue Jackets (55)	0.5 percent

Philadelphia Flyers

For just the second time since 1995, the Philadelphia Flyers failed to make the NHL postseason. That is an impressive run of consistency, but it still hasn't led to them getting over the hump. 

The Flyers have not won the Stanley Cup since 1975. 

Now this team is at a dangerous crossroads, as it is easy to get locked into mediocrity at this point. 

Sure, the Flyers suffered through some bad luck with injuries this past season. Had they enjoyed good health, they would likely be gearing up for the postseason. 

However, that would have been a short trip, as the core of this team has largely regressed. For instance, Claude Giroux scored just 13 goals. 

Given all the injuries and underwhelming showings this past season, the Flyers' core does not look nearly as strong as it once did. 

Sure, they can hope for improved health and performances, but this franchise needs more. It needs an infusion of elite, young talent that it could only find at the top of the draft. 

Columbus Blue Jackets

The Columbus Blue Jackets narrowly missed out on making the NHL postseason for just the second time in franchise history. 

It came down to a matter of tiebreakers, but the Blue Jackets will ultimately be in the lottery instead of the postseason. 

Still, this was a season of hope for the Blue Jackets. Sergei Bobrovsky really started to come into his own and this team is in good shape in the draft no matter what happens in the lottery. 

However, now is the time for the Blue Jackets to get greedy. The addition of the No. 1 overall selection would push this downtrodden franchise to new heights. It would give the Jackets a tremendous amount of flexibility and keep their fanbase buzzing all offseason. 

Florida Panthers

The Florida Panthers enter the NHL draft lottery with the best chance to win the top spot, and for good reason: They were terrible at pretty much everything this year. 

The Panthers were 29th in goals per game and 30th in goals allowed. 

So, other than in scoring goals and allowing them, this team is in pretty good shape. 

The Panthers are in a better position in the lottery than the two teams mentioned above. After all, they aren't going to be selecting any lower than second. 

However, this team needs all the help it can get as it hopes to see the light at the end of the tunnel. The top selection in this draft not only gives it a chance to take the player of its choice, but also the opportunity to trade down for more picks. 

There is going to be a lot more demand for the top selection than the second and this could very well end up being the key to the Panthers' rebuilding process.