NHL Draft Lottery 2025 Set for May 5, Sharks, Blackhawks Have Highest No. 1 Pick Odds

The 2025 NHL Draft Lottery has been set for Monday, May 5.

The San Jose Sharks will enter the lottery with a league-best 25.5 percent chance of winning the No. 1 pick.

The Chicago Blackhawks have the second-best odds at the top pick at 13.5 percent, followed by the Nashville Predators, Philadelphia Flyers and Boston Bruins.

The Seattle Kraken, Buffalo Sabres, Anaheim Ducks, Pittsburgh Penguins, New York Islanders and New York Rangers will also have a chance to win the top pick.

Here's a look at the full No. 1 pick odds ahead of the draft lottery, per Tankathon:

---

2025 NHL Draft Lottery Odds

San Jose Sharks: 25.5 percent

Chicago Blackhawks: 13.5 percent

Nashville Predators: 11.5 percent

Philadelphia Flyers: 9.5 percent

Boston Bruins: 8.5 percent

Seattle Kraken: 7.5 percent

Buffalo Sabres: 6.5 percent

Anaheim Ducks: 6.0 percent

Pittsburgh Penguins: 5.0 percent

New York Islanders: 3.5 percent

New York Rangers: 3.0 percent

---

Teams can move up a maximum of 10 spots in the draft order, and teams cannot win the lottery more than twice over a span of five years.

The Detroit Red Wings, alongside whichever 10 of these franchises do not win the top pick, will be eligible to win the No. 2 selection.

The Rangers, Sabres, Montreal Canadiens, Blackhawks and Sharks earned the top picks of the last five NHL drafts.

The Sabres, Canadiens and Sharks retained their projected No. 1 selections in their respective lotteries.

The Blackhawks jumped from No. 3 to No. 1 ahead of the Connor Bedard draft in 2023, and the Rangers climbed from the No. 8-15 range to the top selection in the 2020 bubble draft to select Alexis Lafrenière.

The Rangers haven't decided if they will keep their 2025 first-round pick. The selection, traded to the Vancouver Canucks as part of the J.T. Miller deal before making its way to the Penguins at the deadline, is top-13-protected.

General manager Chris Drury has until 48 hours before the 2025 NHL draft to decide whether to give the Penguins their 2025 first or their 2026 first.

The NHL draft is set to begin in Los Angeles on June 27. Unlike the Bedard or Macklin Celebrini drafts, there is no consensus top pick, but defenseman Matthew Schaefer and winger Michael Misa will likely be in contention for the No. 1 selection.