For just the second time ever, the NHL Draft Lottery is of importance to us in Philadelphia. It didn’t really go well for us last time, but let’s hope the hockey Gods remember and pay us back this time around.
The lottery will be held at 8 p.m. on Monday night from TSN’s studios in Toronto. It’s sponsored by a Canadian bank or something. The program is typically a half hour long and there’s a lot of build up for what eventually amounts to the opening of a few envelopes.
The Flyers have 1.5 percent odds of winning the draft lottery.
In previous years, teams could move up a maximum of four spots. This year it’s a bit different in that every single team that missed the postseason — including the Flyers — have a chance at the top spot. But at the same time, it’s all or nothing. One team will win the lottery and get the top pick. The others will be locked into the final order of finish.
Here are the full odds for every team that missed the postseason:
30. Florida Panthers – 25.0%
29. Colorado Avalanche – 18.8%
28. Tampa Bay Lightning – 14.2%
27. Nashville Predators – 10.7%
26. Carolina Hurricanes – 8.1%
25. Calgary Flames – 6.2%
24. Edmonton Oilers – 4.7%
23. Buffalo Sabres – 3.6%
22. New Jersey Devils – 2.7%
21. Dallas Stars – 2.1%
20. Philadelphia Flyers – 1.5%
19. Phoenix Coyotes – 1.1%
18. Winnipeg Jets – 0.8%
17. Columbus Blue Jackets – 0.5%
We’ll have a discussion thread tomorrow night during the lottery. Let us pray.
