NHL Draft Lottery Set; Penguins Odds to Move Up

The NHL released the details for the 2023 NHL Draft Lottery, and barring a trade, the Pittsburgh Penguins have their home-grown first lottery pick since 2006.

The Penguins are tentatively slotted to draft 14th but do not have a shot at the presumed first-overall pick, Connor Bedard. In 2021, the NHL revised the draft lottery rules to limit teams to a 10-place jump. So, only the bottom 11 teams have a shot at the first overall pick.

The best the Penguins can draft is fourth. They have a 1.5% chance of winning and moving up.

The Penguins were also in the 2020 NHL Draft Lottery because they lost the play-in series to the Montreal Canadiens in the “bubble tournament” to decide the Stanley Cup during the COVID pandemic. However, GM Jim Rutherford traded that 16th overall pick to the Toronto Maple Leafs as part of the Kasperi Kapanen deal.

They also selected eighth overall in 2012 (Derrick Pouliot) when they acquired the Carolina Hurricanes’ first-round pick in the Jordan Staal trade.

The lottery is Monday, May 8, at the NHL Network’s Secaucus, NJ studio. It will be televised on ESPN beginning at 7 p.m.

The Nashville Predators and Calgary Flames are 15th and 16th, respectively.

The Anaheim Ducks might owe the Penguins a little thank-you card. The Chicago Blackhawks and Columbus Blue Jackets were tied for the worst record in the NHL, but each beat the Penguins in the final week allowing Anaheim to finish last.

Anaheim will have an 18.5% chance. Columbus fell to the second worst. They will have a 13.5% chance to win, and Chicago will have an 11.5% chance.

NHL Draft Lottery Odds