Devils win and Avalanche lose in 2017 NHL Draft Lottery: Three things to know
New Jersey claims No. 1 draft pick after having an 8.5 percent chance of earning the top spot
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1 min read
If the Ottawa Senators and New York Rangers combining for 11 goals in a double-overtime second-round playoff thriller didn't excite you Saturday, then maybe the 2017 NHL Draft Lottery results will.
Especially if you like the New Jersey Devils.
The Devils, who entered the lottery with an 8.5 percent chance of claiming the top draft pick, did just that, earning the No. 1 overall selection after a 28-40-14 campaign in 2016-17.
With the 2017 NHL Draft Lottery in the books, here are three things to know:
The Colorado Avalanche are the losers of the lottery
OK, so getting the No. 4 pick, which they did, is not the end of the world.
But the Avalanche came into the lottery with an 18-percent chance of taking the top spot after an absolutely horrendous -- and that's underselling it -- 2016-17 season that saw them go 22-56-4 and finish with one of the league's worst points totals in more than a decade, even with rumored trade bait Matt Duchene sticking around. So seeing the Devils, Philadelphia Flyers and Dallas Stars shoot up the board cannot be pleasing.
New Jersey has a chance to give Taylor Hall some top offensive help
The Devils weren't good on either side of the ice in 2016-17, but their pitiful offense could get a much-needed boost thanks to the No. 1 draft pick. Someone like center Nolan Patrick could very well be in play, and while New Jersey could also use a top-notch blueliner in the worst way, infusing a little more scoring talent would be a nice way to complement Taylor Hall.
Hall, by the way, is soaking in the Devils' lottery win, which just so happens to be the fourth time the young New Jersey standout is on a team that's earned the No. 1 draft pick.
Officially adding "NHL lottery ball specialist" to my hockey resume.
— Taylor Hall (@hallsy09) April 30, 2017
The Vegas Golden Knights earned the No. 6 pick
Your obligatory update on the new guys in town: Vegas, which still has a shot at purging other teams' talent through June's expansion draft, got the same odds as the 28th-place team in the NHL and wound up with a pick just outside the top five.
That puts them just ahead of the Arizona Coyotes (No. 7) and Buffalo Sabres (No. 8), who had deflating finishes to disappointing seasons.
