Detroit Red Wings fans everywhere were let down by the NHL Draft Lottery system on Friday night, learning that they’ll only have the 4th overall selection in the 2020 Draft despite owning the NHL’s worst record by a wide margin.
And while there were plenty of upset fans and media, don’t count Red Wings GM Steve Yzerman among them.
Steve Yzerman on the Red Wings sliding to No. 4 overall in the NHL Draft lottery:
"To be honest with you, I'm not surprised." pic.twitter.com/Szos4glcx2
— Brad Galli (@BradGalli) June 27, 2020
“I think we’re gonna get a great prospect,” he said. “Hopefully that prospect turns into someone who can move the needle.”
“We can sit here today and feel sorry for ourselves. It doesn’t matter,” he continued. “And you know what? Maybe we will get lucky again.”
However, when asked about the less than stellar results of the Draft Lottery, Yzerman wasn’t surprised that Detroit landed with only the 4th pick due to the fact that eight placeholder teams had 24.5% chance while Detroit had 18.5%.
“To be honest with you, I’m not surprised,” he said.”We had an 18.5 percent chance of winning the first pick. So realistically, I’m prepared to be sitting here today not talking about the first pick. I’m not really surprised. The bottom eight, or the eight playoff teams, had a 24.5 percent chance combined of getting the pick. So the odds were better that the first pick went to the bottom eight than it did us.”
The Red Wings will have a bevy of options with the fourth overall pick whenever the Draft is officially held.
– – All quotes via Brad Galli Twitter – –
