Sharks finish regular season with best odds at No. 1 pick
With the NHL regular season coming to a close, 16 teams will turn their focus to chasing a championship in the Stanley Cup Playoffs. However, for the 16 teams outside the post-season picture, their hopes fall to the draft lottery, which is typically held in May.
With the NHL regular season coming to a close, 16 teams will turn their focus to chasing a championship in the Stanley Cup Playoffs. However, for the 16 teams outside the post-season picture, their hopes fall to the draft lottery, which is typically held in May.
As the team with the worst record in the league, the San Jose Sharks will have the best odds (25.5 per cent) of landing the top pick when the ping-pong balls drop. The Sharks, of course, also selected first last year, drafting forward Macklin Celebrini out of Boston University.
There will be two lottery winners drawn, with the odds for the remaining teams adjusting proportionately for the second winner, based on the first draw.
Only the 11 worst finishers are eligible to win the No. 1 pick through the lottery since teams can only move up 10 spots in the draft order should their numbers be selected.
With all that established, here is a look at the lottery odds for 2025:
|
Team |
Record
|
Pct |
Odds at No. 1 (%) |
Odds of Winning Lottery (%) |
|
San Jose Sharks |
20-50-12 |
.317 |
25.5 |
18.5 |
|
Chicago Blackhawks |
25-46-11
|
.372 |
13.5 |
13.5 |
|
Nashville Predators |
30-44-8 |
.415 |
11.5 |
11.5 |
|
Philadelphia Flyers |
33-39-10 |
.463 |
9.5 |
9.5 |
|
Boston Bruins |
33-39-10 |
.463 |
8.5 |
8.5 |
|
Seattle Kraken |
35-41-6 |
.463 |
7.5 |
7.5 |
|
Buffalo Sabres |
36-39-7 |
.482 |
6.5 |
6.5 |
|
Anaheim Ducks |
35-37-10 |
.488 |
6.0 |
6.0 |
|
Pittsburgh Penguins |
34-36-12 |
.488 |
5.0 |
5.0 |
|
New York Islanders |
35-35-12 |
.500 |
3.5 |
3.5 |
|
New York Rangers* |
39-36-7 |
.518 |
3.0 |
3.0 |
|
Detroit Red Wings |
39-36-8 |
.524 |
0.0 |
2.5 |
|
Columbus Blue Jackets |
40-33-9 |
.543 |
0.0 |
2.0 |
|
Utah Hockey Club |
38-31-13 |
.543 |
0.0 |
1.5 |
|
Vancouver Canucks |
38-30-14 |
.549 |
0.0 |
0.5 |
|
Montreal Canadiens (Via CGY)^ |
41-27-14 |
.585 |
0.0 |
0.5 |
*The Rangers’ selection is top-13 protected through the J.T. Miller trade and was subsequently traded to the Penguins by the Canucks. New York can decide to give the pick to Pittsburgh if it falls in the top 13, but if it doesn’t, its 2026 first-round will go to the Penguins unprotected.
^ The Montreal Canadiens received a top-10 selection from the Calgary Flames in a 2022 deal for Sean Monahan. If the pick were to be chosen in the lottery, the Flames would pick sixth.
At last year’s draft lottery, no teams changed places through the drawing.
Unlike in the past few years, there is no consensus projected No. 1 selection. However, defenceman Matthew Schaefer and centres Michael Misa, Caleb Desnoyers and James Hagens are expected to go at the top of the draft.
