The NHL is turning its attention from pucks to ping pong balls.
While the Stanley Cup Playoffs are in full swing, the 2024 NHL Draft Lottery is approaching. Luck will come into play with the No. 1 overall pick up for grabs as non-playoff teams look to improve their draft positioning.
How exactly does the NHL draft lottery work? Here’s everything to know, from history to odds to key details for the 2024 event:
What is the NHL draft lottery?
Get top local stories in DFW delivered to you every morning. Sign up for NBC DFW's News Headlines newsletter.
The NHL draft lottery is a weighted system that determines the early order for the NHL draft.
When did the NHL draft lottery start?
The NHL first implemented a draft lottery in 1995. Prior to that, the NHL draft order was strictly determined by the regular season standings.
There have been plenty of changes since the original lottery, including the numbers of teams now that there are 32 NHL franchises.
How many teams are in the NHL draft lottery?
The NHL draft lottery features the 16 teams that did not make the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
How far can you move up in the NHL draft lottery?
There are two lottery drawings: one for the No. 1 pick and one for the No. 2 pick. Once the top two picks have been established, the remaining teams will be assigned picks Nos. 3-16 based on the inverse order of the regular season standings. Picks Nos. 17-32 are based on regular season standings and playoff results.
Through the lottery, teams can move as many as 10 spots up the NHL draft order compared to where they finished in the regular season standings. Therefore, 11 teams are in the mix for the No. 1 pick.
The team with the 12th-worst record can move up to No. 2 at the highest, the team with the 13th-worst record can move to No. 3 and so on.
Teams are only allowed to improve their draft positioning through the lottery twice in a five-year period beginning with the 2022 lottery.
How far can you move back in the NHL draft lottery?
Teams can only move two spots back in the draft order relative to their lottery odds. The team with the worst regular season record can pick at No. 3 at the latest, the team with the second-worst record can pick at No. 4 at the latest and so on.
Which team has the best odds for the No. 1 pick in the NHL draft lottery?
The team with the fewest regular season points has a 25.5% chance of earning the No. 1 pick. The team with the second-worst record has 13.5% odds of getting the top pick, the team with the third-worst record has 11.5% odds of getting the top pick and the odds continue to gradually drop until it reaches the team with the 11th-worst record.
The San Jose Sharks have the best chances of landing the top overall pick in 2024 after finishing with the lowest point total (47) in the 2023-24 season. They are followed by the Chicago Blackhawks (52 points) and Anaheim Ducks (59 points).
NHL draft lottery odds
Here is a look at how the odds are distributed for the NHL draft lottery, with the 2024 teams in their respective places (via Tankathon):
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | AVG |
| 1. Sharks | 25.5 | 18.8 | 55.7 | 2.3 | |||||||||||||
| 2. Blackhawks | 13.5 | 14.1 | 30.7 | 41.7 | 3.0 | ||||||||||||
| 3. Ducks | 11.5 | 11.2 | 7.8 | 39.7 | 29.8 | 3.7 | |||||||||||
| 4. Blue Jackets | 9.5 | 9.5 | 0.3 | 15.4 | 44.6 | 20.8 | 4.4 | ||||||||||
| 5. Canadiens | 8.5 | 8.6 | 0.3 | 24.5 | 44.0 | 14.2 | 5.1 | ||||||||||
| 6. Coyotes | 7.5 | 7.7 | 0.2 | 34.1 | 41.4 | 14.2 | 5.9 | ||||||||||
| 7. Senators | 6.5 | 6.7 | 0.2 | 44.4 | 36.5 | 5.6 | 6.7 | ||||||||||
| 8. Kraken | 6.0 | 6.2 | 0.2 | 54.4 | 30.0 | 3.2 | 7.6 | ||||||||||
| 9. Flames | 5.0 | 5.2 | 0.2 | 64.4 | 23.5 | 1.7 | 8.5 | ||||||||||
| 10. Devils | 3.5 | 3.7 | 0.1 | 73.3 | 18.4 | 0.9 | 9.6 | ||||||||||
| 11. Sabres | 3.0 | 3.2 | 0.1 | 79.9 | 13.4 | 0.5 | 10.5 | ||||||||||
| 12. Flyers | 5.1 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 85.7 | 8.9 | 0.2 | 11.6 | ||||||||||
| 13. Wild | 4.2 | >0.0 | >0.0 | 90.7 | 5.1 | >0.0 | 12.6 | ||||||||||
| 14. Penguins | 3.2 | >0.0 | >0.0 | 94.7 | 2.1 | >0.0 | 13.7 | ||||||||||
| 15. Red Wings | 1.1 | >0.0 | 97.9 | 1.1 | 14.9 | ||||||||||||
| 16. Blues | 1.1 | 98.9 | 15.9 |
2024 NHL Draft Lottery date and time
The 2024 NHL Draft Lottery will be held at the NHL Network studios in Secaucus, New Jersey, on Tuesday, May 7. The time for the event has not yet been announced.
How to watch the 2024 NHL Draft Lottery
ESPN, Sportsnet and TVA Sports will broadcast the lottery.
2024 NHL Draft date and time
The 2024 NHL Draft reportedly will be held at The Sphere in Las Vegas from June 28-29.
Round 1 will be held on Friday, June 28, and Rounds 2-7 will be held on Saturday, June 29.
