Originally published on May 26. The NHL Draft Lottery will take place on Friday night at 8 p.m.
On Tuesday, NHL commissioner Gary Bettman met with the general managers from around the league, and in addition to officially ending the 2019-20 regular season, he also announced the date (and format) of the 2020 NHL Draft Lottery.
According to reports, the 2020 NHL Draft Lottery will be held on Friday, June 26th, with the No. 1, No. 2, and No. 3 picks all being up for grabs to 15 teams. (7 bottom teams + 8 losers of round-robin round of the tournament)
What does this mean for the Detroit Red Wings?
Well, nothing has changed for the Red Wings at all when it comes to the NHL Draft Lottery as they still hold the second-best odds to land the No. 1 overall pick (more on that in a second) and they cannot pick lower than No. 4.
Many of you are probably not sure why the Red Wings have the second-best odds to land the No. 1 overall pick, considering they had what was by far the worst regular-season record in the NHL.
The reason why the Red Wings have the second-best odds to land the No. 1 pick is that the Ottawa Senators actually have a better shot at landing the top pick.
As you can see below (Via Tankathon), the Red Wings have a 18.5% chance of landing the No. 1 overall pick and the Senators have a 13.5% chance. That being said, the Senators also have the San Jose Sharks’ chances (11.5%) which puts them at an even 25% chance of landing the top pick in the 2020 NHL Draft.
How will the 2020 NHL Draft Lottery look?
As you can see by the tweets from Bob McKenzie, the 2020 NHL Draft Lottery will look a little bit different but it is not as complicated as it appears.
Here are some of the main points to know.
- Held on Friday, June 26, 8 p.m. EST
- Top 3 picks up for grabs
- 15 teams in lottery (7 bottom teams + first 8 teams eliminated in round-robin play)
- After Top 3 picks are awarded, the remaining draft slots will be in inverse order of regular-season points percentage at the time of pause. (This is why the Red Wings cannot pick lower than No. 4)
