The NHL Draft Lottery Is Rigged (Not Really), But These Teams Sure Act Like It

The NHL draft lottery happens Tuesday night, and if you think it's boring compared to the NBA version, you're absolutely right. That's actually by design.

Back in 1995, when the NHL first ran its lottery, commissioner Gary Bettman, a former basketball guy, created something way less chaotic than what the NBA does. That first year? Only the Los Angeles Kings moved up, jumping from No. 7 to No. 3. Nobody could jump more than four spots. Ottawa still got the top pick because they had the worst record. Even the Senators GM at the time admitted it wasn't suspenseful: "We had a list of the random numbers and everybody tried to pretend that they really didn't care, but as the numbers started to pop up, everybody started to try and figure out which number fell in their realm."

How the Game Changed

For decades, the lottery stayed boring. Only one team moved up each year, so nobody could drop more than a spot. Before 2013, nobody could jump more than four places anyway. The one exception was 2005, when the lockout wiped out the entire season and every team got a shot at Sidney Crosby.

Now it's different. The first two picks get their own separate draws. Teams can move up a maximum of 10 slots. And yes, they show the ball drawings live now, which is at least slightly less of a snooze.

The Teams That Got Lucky (Really Lucky)

Chicago won the lottery twice for No. 1 picks: Patrick Kane in 2007 and Connor Bedard in 2023. They also moved up four spots to No. 4 in 1999 and nine spots to No. 3 in 2019. They've never fallen out of the top pick.

Edmonton? They're the lottery gods. Four No. 1 picks in six years: Taylor Hall (2010), Ryan Nugent-Hopkins (2011), Neil Yakupov (2012), and Connor McDavid (2015). No other team has landed the top pick that many times in the lottery era.

The New York Islanders pulled off something wild last year. They had just a 3.5% chance to draw the first pick and jumped all the way up from No. 10. Matthew Schaefer made an immediate impact.

The Unlucky Ones

Anaheim? They've had top-three lottery odds three times since 2021 and still haven't landed a No. 1 pick. They fell out of the draw in 2023 when Connor Bedard went to Chicago instead. That's harsh.

The lottery isn't designed to be dramatic like the NBA version. It's designed to be predictable and fair. But tell that to the teams watching their lottery balls bounce the wrong way on Tuesday night.

This article was created with AI assistance and reviewed by Seattle On Tap editorial staff. Always verify information with official team sources.