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NHL Draft Lottery Odds in 2024

The NHL Draft Lottery odds for the 2024 draw have been released! The most likely to win the #1 pick is San Jose but several teams who placed last in the league have missed out on the top prospect since the lottery awards decent chances to teams placed #31 and #30 in the regular season.

The Sharks have a 25.5% chance of winning, the Blackhawks 13.5%, and the Ducks are the last team with over 10% chance of landing the #1 pick (11.5%). Neither the Sharks or the Ducks have ever won the draft lottery, while the Blackhaws were lucky last year and picked the supertalent Connor Bedard. Will they land the top pick again and draft Macklin Celebrini, or will one of the California teams boost their team with the talented teenager?

DraftKings Sportsbook provides the odds for 11 teams that placed in the bottom at the end of the NHL’s regular season. While several teams outside the playoffs have a chance to win the lottery, the odds shrink rapidly outside the top-3 candidates.

San Jose Sharks: +270
Chicago Blackhawks: +500
Anaheim Ducks: +700
Columbus Blue Jackets: +850
Montreal Canadiens: +900
Arizona Coyotes/Utah Hockey Team: +1000
Ottawa Senators: +1200
Seattle Kraken: +1300
Calgary Flames: +1500
New Jersey Devils: +2200
Buffalo Sabres: +2500

Top Prospects in the 2024 NHL Draft

The expected #1 draft pick in 2024 is Macklin Celebrini (C, Boston University). Celebrini has been hailed as a potential franchise-level center for the lucky winner as an excellent two-way player. The teen already possess excellent puck skills and will surely be an asset on the powerplay.

The field evens out behind Celebrini and it’s difficult to pick a solid #2 pick. There is plenty of young talent coming to the NHL Draft this year so each team will have to make difficult decisions come draft day. Below are some possible top-10 players behind Celebrini:

Artyom Levshunov, D, Michigan State
Ivan Demidov, RW, St. Petersburg (KHL)
Cayden Lindstrom, C, Medicine Hat (WHL)
Sam Dickinson, D, London (OHL)
Zayne Parekh, D, Saginaw (OHL)
Berkly Catton, C, Spokane (WHL)
Trevor Connelly, LW, Tri-City (USHL)
Anton Silayev, D, Torpedo (KHL)
Zeev Buium, D, Denver (NCHC)
Tij Iginla, C, Kelowna (WHL)
Carter Yakemchuk, D, Calgary (WHL)

What Is the NHL Draft Lottery?

Unlike some other major leagues, the NHL doesn’t award the #1 draft pick to the team who placed last in the regular season. Instead, the 16 teams left outside the playoffs become eligible to win the first pick through the lottery. This is done to prevent teams from intentionally dropping games in a race to the bottom. Below are the lottery odds for each team:

San Jose Sharks: 18.5%
Chicago Blackhawks: 13.5%
Anaheim Ducks: 11.5%
Columbus Blue Jackets: 9.5%
Montreal Canadiens: 8.5%
Arizona Coyotes/Utah Hockey Team: 7.5%
Ottawa Senators: 6.5%
Seattle Kraken: 6%
Calgary Flames: 5%
New Jersey Devils: 3.5%
Buffalo Sabres: 3%
Philadelphia Flyers: 2.5%
Minnesota Wild: 2%
Calgary Flames: 5%
San Jose Sharks (via Pittsburgh Penguins): 1.5%
Detroit Red Wings: 0.5%
St. Louis Blues: 0.5%

While they have theoretical odds to win, the NHL rules prevent a team from moving up more than 10 positions in the lottery, so the Flyers, Wild, Flames, Red Wings, and Blues can’t win the #1 pick.

The first 16 picks are determined by the lottery, while the remaining 16 are determined by playoff success. This only applies to the first round of the draft; in rounds 2-7, teams select prospects in the order of the final standings. Visit our NHL guide to see how the playoffs are progressing.

The lottery is conducted by an independent account firm using a set of 14 ping pong balls. Each team has a set of four-number combinations; the more combinations, the better the odds of winning. The draw is then completed through the first 16 picks.

The last notable thing is that any team can’t win the lottery more than twice in five years, so should the Blackhawks win this year, they’d have to wait until 2029 for their next chance.