NHL Draft Lottery: Buffalo Sabres odds, how to watch & more (2024)

BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) – The results of the 2024 NHL Draft Lottery will be revealed at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday. Here are 4 things to know about the Sabres’ latest entry into the annual sweepstakes.

What are the Sabres’ chances at the #1 pick?

Of the 16 teams that missed the playoffs, 10 had a worse record than the Sabres. That means Buffalo was given the 11th-highest lottery odds at 3%.

The most likely outcome is that the Sabres will stay put at 11th overall. But they could end up picking 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 11th, 12th or 13th, due to some recent changes in how the lottery process works.

Three years ago, the NHL changed the lottery procedure to limit the number of draft slots a team can move up. Now, it might be more helpful to think of the lottery as awarding a coupon to move up 10 draft slots, rather than automatically gifting the winner the first overall pick. So, if a team with the 13th-best odds wins the draw for the No. 1 pick, they will only move up to No. 3, and the team with the best odds (San Jose) will retain the top pick.

The only way the Sabres can win the first or second pick is by winning a drawing. There is also a rare scenario where they would get the third pick: If the Flyers, who have the 12th-best odds, win the first lottery, and the Sabres win the second drawing. In that instance, the Flyers could only move up 10 slots to No. 2, San Jose would lock into No. 1, and then the team winning the second drawing could only move up to No. 3.

Alternatively, if the Sabres don’t win the lottery but a team or teams with worse odds are selected, the Sabres could drop back to the 12th or 13th pick.

The full lottery odds are below. The chances of winning the second drawing will change on a proportionate basis depending on which team wins the first drawing.

TeamOdds
San Jose Sharks18.5%
Chicago Blackhawks13.5%
Anaheim Ducks11.5%
Columbus Blue Jackets9.5%
Montreal Canadiens8.5%
Utah7.5%
Ottawa Senators6.5%
Seattle Kraken6.0%
Calgary Flames5.0%
New Jersey Devils3.5%
Buffalo Sabres3.0%
Philadelphia Flyers2.5%
Minnesota Wild2.0%
Pittsburgh Penguins*1.5%
Detroit Red Wings0.5%
St. Louis Blues0.5%

How can I watch the draft lottery?

The Draft Lottery will be shown on ESPN at 6:30 p.m. and available for streaming via ESPN. Canadian fans can watch via Sportsnet or TVA Sports. Results will be posted soon after on WIVB.com.

Who is the top prospect in the draft?

Boston University forward Macklin Celebrini is the unanimous top prospect in the draft, and the Cele-bration will be on for the team that wins the top pick. As the youngest player in Division I hockey at 17 years old, Celebrini posted an even 32 goals and 32 assists in 38 games, surpassing Jack Eichel’s goal total in their lone seasons as Terriers. Both players won the Hobey Baker Memorial Award as college hockey’s top player.

After Celebrini, there is less consensus in the rankings. View rankings here from NHL Central Scouting and broadcasting legend Bob McKenzie.

How many times have the Sabres won the draft lottery?

The NHL has held a draft lottery since 1995, tweaking the process numerous times over the last three decades. In 2016, the league began awarding the top three picks via the lottery system, and in 2021 it dropped the number of selections down to two.

The Sabres have won the lottery twice: In 2018, when they selected Rasmus Dahlin first overall, and in 2021, when they grabbed Owen Power. In each instance, they entered the lottery with the best odds. The Sabres infamously lost the draft lottery in 2015, when Edmonton moved from third to first and skipped over Buffalo and Arizona to select Connor McDavid.

The league adopted a rule beginning in 2022 than no team can win the lottery more than twice in a five-year span. Lottery winners since that rule went into effect include Chicago (2023), Anaheim (2023), Montreal (2022) and New Jersey (2022).

Bonus: Top prospects headed to Buffalo

The 2024 NHL Scouting Combine will once again be held in Buffalo this June.

The NHL Combine is similar to the NFL’s popular version, showcasing the topdraft-eligible North American and international prospects. This year’s event will be held from June 2-8 at KeyBank Center and HarborCenter.

* * *

Nick Veronica is a Buffalo native who joined the News 4 team as the Digital Executive Producer in 2021. He previously worked at NBC Sports and The Buffalo News. You can follow Nick on Facebook, Twitter and Threads. See more of his work here.

NHL Draft Lottery: Buffalo Sabres odds, how to watch & more (2024)

FAQs

How can I watch NHL draft lottery? ›

The NHL Draft Lottery airs live on ESPN and livestreams on ESPN+. You can watch the race with any live TV streaming service that has ESPN, including DirecTV Stream, Hulu + Live TV and Sling Orange.

How do NHL draft lottery odds work? ›

Each team in the lottery is assigned a set of random four-number combinations. The worse a team's record, the more combinations they are assigned; so the team with the worst record this past season, the San Jose Sharks, gets 185, representing an 18.5% chance of winning the first lottery draw.

What time is the NHL draft lottery tonight? ›

How can I watch the NHL draft lottery? The lottery is Tuesday at 6:30 p.m. ET and airs live on ESPN and ESPN+.

Can you win the NHL draft lottery 2 years in a row? ›

No team can advance in the draft order by reason of a lottery win more than twice in a five-year span, which means if the Blackhawks win the lottery again this year, they wouldn't be "eligible" to win again until 2028, unless they finish dead-last and win by default.

What channel is the NHL draft lottery on TV? ›

The 2024 NHL draft lottery is Tuesday, May 7, at 6:30 p.m. ET in Secaucus, New Jersey. ESPN will broadcast the event and it can be live streamed here.

How can I watch NHL draft online for free? ›

The NHL draft lottery will be broadcast by ESPN, which you can live stream on ESPN+, fubo TV (FREE trial), Sling TV (first-month discount) and DirecTV Stream (intro discount and free trial).

How do you bet on hockey odds? ›

If a team is the puck line favorite (-1.5), it must win the game by two or more goals to cover the puck line. If a team is a puck line underdog (+1.5), it must win the game outright or lose by less than two goals to cover and win the puck line bet. For example, the Bruins are the -1.5 puck line favorite in this game.

How does the NHL decide who gets first pick? ›

If a team outside the bottom eleven teams wins the first draft lottery they move up ten spots (e.g. fourteenth team wins the lottery and moves up to fourth overall) and lowest finishing team from the previous season is then awarded the first overall selection.

Who won the draft lottery in NHL? ›

The San Jose Sharks have the No. 1 pick in the 2024 Upper Deck NHL Draft after winning the NHL Draft Lottery on Tuesday.

Who won the 2024 NHL draft lottery? ›

The San Jose Sharks have won the 2024 NHL Draft Lottery and will pick No. 1 overall at the draft in Las Vegas this summer. With that top overall pick, the Sharks will get a new franchise cornerstone in the form of Boston University star Macklin Celebrini.

How many times can you win the NHL draft lottery? ›

No single team can move up in the draft by winning in the draft lottery more than twice in any five-year period. That has not happened yet since the league implemented the forward-looking rule as of 2022. For example, no team can win more than twice between 2022 and 2026.

How many picks are in the NHL draft lottery? ›

The 14 teams not selected in the 2024 NHL Draft Lottery were assigned the remaining draft selections (among 1 through 16 in the first round), in inverse order of regular-season points. Fourteen balls, numbered 1 to 14, were placed in a lottery machine. The machine randomly expelled four balls.

What is the age limit for NHL Draft? ›

The NHL Draft is an annual event in which every franchise of the National Hockey League selects the rights to available amateur ice hockey players who meet draft eligibility requirements (North American players 18-20 years old and Europeans of all ages entering the league for the first time, all others enter league as ...

How many spots can you jump in the NHL Draft lottery? ›

A team can move up only 10 spots in the draft. For example, if the Minnesota Wild, the team with the 13th-best odds, wins the first lottery, they would be awarded the No. 3 pick.

What is the draft cutoff age for NHL? ›

Who Is Eligible To Be Selected In The NHL Draft? Draft eligible players include all players turning 18 years old on or before September 15 and younger than 20 years old before December 31 of the draft year. Non-North American players aged 21 are also eligible.

Is the draft lottery on TV? ›

The lottery will take place in a private room in Chicago and be unveiled live on ABC at 3 p.m. ET with Detroit and Washington owning the best odds -- 14% -- to win the lottery and the rights to the No. 1 pick.

Is NHL on DraftKings? ›

How to Bet on NHL Games with DraftKings Sportsbook. Once you've decided where you want to place your NHL bets, just log on to DraftKings Sportsbook and click your desired wager for a digital bet slip. Then watch the game—and collect any payouts that come your way.

Where is the NHL draft lottery held? ›

The 2024 draft will be held at Sphere in Las Vegas. The first round will be June 28, with Rounds 2-7 on June 29. The lottery, held at the studios of NHL Network in Secaucus, New Jersey, consisted of the 16 teams that failed to qualify for the 2024 Stanley Cup Playoffs.

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