The Draft Lottery is an annual event that is held by the NHL to determine the order of selection for the first 16 picks in the NHL Entry Draft. The event is organized at the NHL Network's studios in Secaucus, New Jersey, since 2020, the lottery assigns odds based on regular-season point totals, giving the team with the fewest points an 18.5% chance of securing the first pick, while the team with the highest point total among non-playoff teams has a 1% chance.
The lottery is designed as two draws to select the top two picks. If a team wins the lottery, they will get the first pick. For example, if the team with the fifth-worst record wins, they get the first pick. The remaining teams with the worst through fourth-worst records move down one spot each. A team can win the lottery only twice in five years, ensuring fairness in the lottery draft picks. The 2024 NHL Draft Lottery took place on May 7, 2024. While many teams are busy in the playoff series and non playoff performing teams have the chance to improvise their rosters.
NHL Draft Lottery winners
On May 7, 2024, the San Jose Sharks and Chicago Blackhawks emerged as the winners of the two draft lotteries. With their second lottery win in two seasons, the Chicago Blackhawks will not be eligible to win the draft lottery again until 2028. Since 2012-2013, non-playoff NHL teams have had the chance to win the first overall pick.
However, starting from the 2014-15 season, they changed this system.They reduced the odds for the teams with the worst records, meaning they were less likely to win the lottery. Instead, they increased the possibilities for the other non-playoff teams, giving them a better shot at winning. This change was to create a fairer lottery system by giving the odds more evenly among all non-playoff teams.
Year | Team | Player |
2024 | San Jose Sharks | |
Chicago Blackhawks | ||
2023 | Chicago Blackhawks | Connor Bedard |
Anaheim Ducks | Leo Carlsson | |
2022 | Montréal Canadiens | Juraj Slafkovsky |
New Jersey Devils | Simon Nemec | |
2021 | Buffalo Sabres | Owen Power |
Seattle Kraken | Matty Beniers | |
2020 | New York Rangers | Alexis Lafrenière |
Los Angeles Kings | Quinton Byfield | |
Ottawa Senators | Tim Stützle | |
2019 | New Jersey Devils | Jack Hughes |
New York Rangers | Kaapo Kakko | |
Chicago Blackhawks | Kirby Dach | |
2018 | Buffalo Sabres | Rasmus Dahlin |
Carolina Hurricanes | Andrei Svechnikov | |
Montréal Canadiens | Jesperi Kotkaniemi | |
2017 | New Jersey Devils | Nico Hischier |
Philadelphia Flyers | Nolan Patrick | |
Dallas Stars | Miro Heiskanen | |
2016 | Toronto Maple Leafs | Auston Matthews |
Winnipeg Jets | Patrik Laine | |
Columbus Blue Jackets | Pierre-Luc Dubois | |
2015 | Edmonton Oilers | Connor McDavid |
2014 | Florida Panthers | Aaron Ekblad |
2013 | Colorado Avalanche | Nathan MacKinnon |
2012 | Edmonton Oilers | Nail Yakupov |
2011 | New Jersey Devils | Adam Larsson |
2010 | Edmonton Oilers | Taylor Hall |
2009 | New York Islanders | John Tavares |
2008 | Tampa Bay Lightning | Steven Stamkos |
2007 | Chicago Blackhawks | Patrick Kane |
2006 | St. Louis Blues | Erik Johnson |
2005 | Pittsburgh Penguins | Sidney Crosby |
2004 | Washington Capitals | Alex Ovechkin |
2003 | Florida Panthers | Marc-Andre Fleury |
2002 | Florida Panthers | Rick Nash |
2001 | Atlanta Thrashers | Ilya Kovalchuk |
2000 | New York Islanders | Rick DiPietro |
1999 | Chicago Blackhawks | Pavel Brendl |
1998 | Tampa Bay Lightning | Vincent Lecavalier |
1997 | Boston Bruins | Joe Thornton |
1996 | Ottawa Senators | Chris Phillips |
1995 | Los Angeles Kings | Aki Berg |
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