As teams who missed out on the 2021 NHL playoffs turn their focus to the future and the 2021 NHL Draft, they first need to find out where they’ll be selecting in the first round.
The 2021 NHL Draft Lottery on Wednesday night will provide those answers.
Here’s everything you need to know before we find out which team will be selecting first overall in the 2021 NHL Draft, which is set for July 23-24.
Stay in the game with the latest updates on your beloved Bay Area and California sports teams! Sign up here for our All Access Daily newsletter.
How can I watch the 2021 NHL Draft Lottery?
The 2021 NHL Draft Lottery takes place at 7 p.m. ET on Wednesday, June 2, from the NHL Network studios in Secaucus, N.J. It will air on NBC Sports Network, or you can stream it live here.
Which picks will be determined in the lottery?
There will be two draws in the 2021 draft lottery -- one to determine who gets the No. 1 overall pick and one to determine who gets the No. 2 overall pick. Once the first two picks are awarded, the remaining teams will be ordered from lowest to highest 2021 regular-season point total starting at the No. 3 pick.
San Jose Sharks
There are 16 teams who will be involved in the lottery drawing, but only 15 who actually have a shot at landing a top-two selection. The Arizona Coyotes were docked their 2021 first-round pick for violating the NHL’s scouting combine policy. So if Arizona wins the No. 1 or No. 2 pick, there will be a redraw.
Who has the best chances of picking No. 1?
After finishing with a league-worst 37 points, the Buffalo Sabres enter tonight with the best odds (16.6 percent) of landing the No. 1 overall pick. Buffalo last won the lottery in 2018, when they also held the best odds, and wound up taking defenseman Rasmus Dahlin first overall.
The Anaheim Ducks have the second-highest odds at 12.1 percent followed by a tie between the Seattle Kraken and New Jersey Devils 10.3 percent. The Seattle expansion franchise was automatically assigned the same odds as the team with the third-worst record and is guaranteed to get a top-five selection.
The winner of the 2020 NHL Draft Lottery has the lowest odds to take home the No. 1 pick at this year’s event (well, other than the Coyotes). The New York Rangers have just a one percent chance of moving up to the top spot.
Here’s a complete look at the odds for the draft lottery:
1. Buffalo Sabres: 16.6 percent
2. Anaheim Ducks: 12.1 percent
3. Seattle Kraken: 10.3 percent
4. New Jersey Devils: 10.3 percent
5. Columbus Blue Jackets: 8.5 percent
6. Detroit Red Wings: 7.6 percent
7. San Jose Sharks: 6.7 percent
8. Los Angeles Kings: 5.8 percent
9. Vancouver Canucks: 5.4 percent
10. Ottawa Senators: 4.5 percent
11. Arizona Coyotes: 3.1 percent
12. Chicago Blackhawks: 2.7 percent
13. Calgary Flames: 2.2 percent
14. Philadelphia Flyers: 1.8 percent
15. Dallas Stars: 1.4 percent
16. New York Rangers: 1.0 percent