Tonight hockey fans around the globe will be tuning in to find out their respective teams' futures. The Washington Capitals won't be a part of this but let's break down the odds of who is going to land the number one pick in the 2024 NHL Draft.
You can catch the draft lottery at 6:30 p.m. on ESPN, Sportsnet, and TVA Sports. Here are the percentage odds per a press release from the NHL for who is most likely to land the number one pick:
San Jose Sharks 18.5 percent
Chicago Blackhawks 13.5 percent
Anaheim Ducks 11.5 percent
Columbus Blue Jackets 9.5 percent
Montreal Canadiens 8.5 percent
Utah 7.5 percent
Ottawa Senators 6.5 percent
Seattle Kraken 6.0 percent
Calgary Flames 5.0 percent
New Jersey Devils 3.5 percent
Buffalo Sabres 3.0 percent
Philadelphia Flyers 2.5 percent
Minnesota Wild 2.0 percent
Pittsburgh Penguins* 1.5 percent
Detroit Red Wings 0.5 percent
St. Louis Blues 0.5 percent
Note on the Penguins, on the terms of the August 6, 2023 trade, Pittsburgh is trading their first rounder to San Jose. If Pittsburgh 2024 first round pick becomes a top 10 pick as a result of the draft lottery, Pittsburgh will have the option to transfer their 2025 first rounder to San Jose instead of this year's.
Also note that the odds for the remaining teams will increase on a proportionate basis for the second lottery draw, based on what team wins the first lottery draw.
Now for the other 14 not selected in the lottery, they'll be assisgned the remaining 2024 draft selections among one through 16 in the first round in inverse order of regular season points.
Once again the NHL Scouting Combine will take place from June 2-8 in Buffalo. The prizes for the top picks in the draft include Macklin Celebrini from Boston University and Anton Silayev from Nizhny Novgorod of the KHL.
The Vegas Golden Knights losing to the Dallas Stars in the first round of the Stanley Cup playoffs does wonders for the Capitals.
Thanks to the Anthony Mantha trade, the Caps will now pick 52nd in the second row and avoiding a possible drop to as low as 65, as reported by Chris Cerullo of RMNB.
So if you're still in hockey mode and down to watch Evgeny Kuznetsov's Caroina Hurricanes vs. the New York Rangers and Peter Laviolette, be sure to tune in at 6:30 for the lotery!