dailynewsnblog
It’s draft lottery week in American sports. The NBA’s version is Sunday, and I’ll probably look at that Friday in this space. The NHL’s lottery is tonight from the NHL Network studio in Secaucus, N.J., and the presumed big prize for the winner is Canadian forward Gavin McKenna, who plays collegiately at Penn State.
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FanDuel NHL Draft lottery odds
- Canucks +270
- Blackhawks +550
- Rangers +650
- Flames +850
- Maple Leafs +950
- Kraken +1100
- Jets +1200
- Panthers +1400
- Sharks +1600
- Predators +1800
- Blues +2700
The lottery determines the order of selection for the top 16 picks in the first round of the draft, which will take place June 26-27 in Buffalo. Tonight will be conducted in two phases, with one drawing to determine the No. 1 pick and another to determine the No. 2 pick. No club can climb higher than 10 spots, so the top 11 seeds are eligible to win the lottery, while teams sitting Nos. 12-16 can only jump as high as Nos. 2-6.
The Vancouver Canucks finished with by far the fewest points in the NHL this season with 58 and are in the midst of a rebuild, having fired general manager Patrik Allvin after four seasons. They still haven’t replaced him but clearly will by the time the draft is here, if not much sooner.
The Canucks have a 25.5% chance of winning the lottery and are priced at +270 at FanDuel to do so (which equates to 27%). They have never picked first overall. Per the Vancouver Province, the team did have the first pick in the 1999 draft but then-GM Brian Burke wanted to have the Sedin brothers on the stage together when he picked them so he traded the top pick to the Atlanta Thrashers in exchange for an Atlanta promise to pick Patrik Stefan rather than either Swede.
Daniel Sedin went second to Vancouver (and wore jersey No. 22 because of it) and Henrik third (and wore jersey No. 33), and they are two of the best players in franchise history, both in the Hockey Hall of Fame. Both will represent the team in New Jersey tonight.
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My Blackhawks finished with the second-fewest points in the league – it’s about time to start contending again, fellas – and have a 13.5% shot at the lottery and are priced +550 (equates to 15.4%) to win it. The Hawks won the lottery most recently in 2023 when they had the third-best chance (11.5%) and took Connor Bedard at No. 1.
In 2024, San Jose won the lottery with the highest 25.5% shot and selected Macklin Celebrini (great player), while last year the New York Islanders jumped all the way from the 10th-best chance (3.5%) to first and hit a grand slam with the choice of defenseman Matthew Schaefer. That’s why you saw some teams tanking hard at the end of the regular season, to try to get at least to the 11th-worst record and still have a chance to leap to No. 1. New Jersey finished 12th in the overall standings so is the unlucky loser.
FanDuel prices McKenna at -430 to be the No. 1 overall pick with the field at +300. He is ranked as the No. 1 North American skater by NHL Central Scouting after a terrific freshman season at Penn State in which the winger had 15 goals and 36 assists in 35 games. I have seen some NHL comparisons to Utah’s Clayton Keller. McKenna is slated to play in the IIHF World Championships for Team Canada this month. He will be the first Nittany Lion to compete at the World Championships.
If it’s not McKenna at No. 1, it likely will be Swedish forward Ivar Stenberg, who tops all international skaters via NHL Central Scouting. He scored 11 goals with 22 assists in in 43 games with Frolunda of the SHL and helped Sweden capture gold at the 2026 IIHF World Junior Championship. He has been compared to Toronto’s William Nylander.
Speaking of the Maple Leafs … as part of a March 2025 trade, they owe a first-round pick to Boston. But if that pick in this year’s draft lands in the top five, Toronto will instead transfer its 2027 or 2028 first-rounder to the Bruins. FanDuel actually offers odds on the Leafs getting a top-five pick with Yes at +135 and No at -140.
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