NHL 2021 Draft Lottery: Which team has the best odds to be awarded the No. 1 pick?
It's the first draft lottery that will feature the league's newest team, the Seattle Kraken
By
Chris Bengel
•
1 min read
The NHL playoffs are just getting started, but the league is looking ahead and on Wednesday announced the details of the 2021 Draft. The two-day event will start with the 1st and 2nd lottery draws to determine which two teams get the top two picks.
Following the first two picks being handed out, the 14 clubs that aren't selected will be assigned picks three through 16. The order for that is determined in inverse order of their regular season point totals. This draft will be a historic one, because it is the first that includes the league's newest expansion team, the Seattle Kraken.
The Sabres will have the best chance (16.6 percent) to land the No. 1 pick after finishing with the worst record in the NHL last season. They are followed by the Ducks, who have a 12.1 percent chance of owning the No. 1 pick.
Then, there's the Kraken. The expansion team will enter the Draft Lottery with the third-best odds at the top spot, but have the same percentage of odds as the No. 4 seed Devils. The Kraken are getting the same treatment the Golden Knights did in their first Draft Lottery back in 2017. The Kraken are guaranteed to have no worse than the No. 5 pick.
Here are the odds for every team involved in the Draft Lottery:
- Buffalo Sabres (16.6 percent)
- Anaheim Ducks (12.1 percent)
- Seattle Kraken (10.3 percent)
- New Jersey Devils (10.3 percent)
- Columbus Blue Jackets (8.5 percent)
- Detroit Red Wings (7.6 percent)
- San Jose Sharks (6.7 percent)
- Los Angeles Kings (5.8 percent)
- Vancouver Canucks (5.4 percent)
- Ottawa Senators (4.5 percent)
- Arizona Coyotes (3.1 percent) - Coyotes lose 2021 1st round pick as a result of sanctions imposed by NHL; Arizona being selected in lottery will result in a redraw
- Chicago Blackhawks (2.7 percent)
- Calgary Flames (2.2 percent)
- Philadelphia Flyers (1.8 percent)
- Dallas Stars (1.4 percent)
- New York Rangers (1.0 percent)
After the Draft Lottery is complete, the 2021 NHL Draft will be held virtually with Round 1 beginning on July 23. Rounds 2-7 will take place on July 24.
