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An NHL Play-In Team Wins Draft Lottery

The No. 1 overall pick and the team will be determined after the play-in rounds are complete and another draft lottery (Phase 2) takes place.

The NHL held their draft lottery on Friday and right away, things got interesting when eight cards were delivered instead of seven. That meant one of the play-in teams of the 24-team road-to-the playoffs would be in the top three.

It turned out, that team won the No. 1 overall pick and the lucky organization will be determined after the play-in rounds are complete and another draft lottery (Phase 2) takes place.

Social media was immediately buzzing with comments like “The NHL hates Ottawa” or “what a gut punch for Detroit.” The only happy team who benefited is the Los Angeles Kings, who jumped up to the second overall selection. Everyone else dropped.

It turned the draft fell in the following order:

  1. Play-In Team
  2. Los Angeles Kings
  3. Ottawa Senators
  4. Detroit Red Wings

So Now What?

The first-overall selection will come from one of the play-in teams that doesn’t advance. From there, all eliminated teams will have an equal chance to win the top selection. If the playoffs don’t take place for health reasons, the bottom-eight teams will have an equal chance to win the top pick.

Play-in round losers will have each have 12.5 percent chance at the No. 1 overall pick.

One thing to be clear is that the team who wins the Stanley Cup or makes the top-16 teams in the playoffs, cannot win the top overall selection.

Related: Are a New CBA and the NHL’s Return to Play Bumping Heads?

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