The NHL Draft Lottery is tonight, and while the Edmonton Oilers might not be picking in the event, there is still some reasons to watch for Oilers fans.
The Buffalo Sabres go into the draft lottery with the best odds at getting the top pick. Winning the lottery is something the Oilers did a lot during the past ten years, but now they are in their era of winning, which hasn’t been that great so far.
It is not as simple as being all in or all out on a season. Edmonton does need to focus on the future every year and make sure they are in a good position, but they also need to make sure they are giving their top pick Connor McDavid all the help he needs to win it all.
A few things to note ahead of the draft lottery:
Date: 6/2/2021
Time: 7 PM Eastern
Livestream: fubo.tv
Current Percentages To Win Lottery:
Buffalo Sabres -16.6
Anaheim Ducks -12.1
Seattle Kraken – 10.3
New Jersey Devils -10.3
Columbus Blue Jackets – 8.5
Detroit Red Wings -7.6
San Jose Sharks – 6.7
Los Angeles Kings – 5.8
Vancouver Canucks – 5.4
Ottawa Senators – 4.5
Arizona Coyotes – 3.1
Chicago Blackhawks – 2.7
Calgary Flames – 2.2
Philadelphia Flyers – 1.8
Dallas Stars – 1.4
New York Rangers – 1.0
Knowing the way the NHL works one of the teams with a 2 or 1 percent chance at taking the top pick will. A top pick is a luxury in the NHL, they usually can be instant players in the lineup, but at the same time, they are only as good as the supporting cast they have.
Even if the top pick scores 105 points during the regular season if the general manager doesn’t surround him with some good players that team will probably get swept in the first round. Oh sorry, we are talking about this year’s draft not just in general.
Unless the Oilers want to trade up in the draft, this really doesn’t affect the team too much. If a team like Detroit or San Jose takes the top pick and Buffalo wants to trade up for the number one spot maybe the Oilers can get involved and trade their pick or something like that. Honestly, the possibilities are endless when it comes to offseason trades.