The NHL draft lottery is the most exciting time of the post-season for the clubs that missed out on a playoff spot.
Heading into the 2025 NHL draft, it’s been 10 years since Connor McDavid was drafted. Widely considered the best player in the NHL today, we’ve seen the draft lottery change a few times since then.
There was one lottery draw in McDavid’s draft year. From 2016 to 2020, there were three lottery draws for picks Nos. 1 through 3. After that, it went down to two draft lotteries.
The odds were tweaked each time, and the NHL has tried to deter tanking, but teams have continued to tank. While they aren’t tanking at the same level as the Edmonton Oilers, Arizona Coyotes and Buffalo Sabres were that McDavid year, we still get, as some like to call it, strategically losing.
Before we head into the 2025 NHL draft lottery Monday at 7 p.m. ET, where we will see the numbers drawn live, let’s look at the last decade of the draft lottery, starting with McDavid going to the Oilers in 2015.
2015: The Oilers Nab McDavid
After toiling at the bottom of the NHL despite getting some high-end picks, including three straight first overall picks between 2020 and 2012, the Oilers were once again praying for a lottery miracle.
In what was set up to be the biggest draft since Sidney Crosby came into the NHL, the Oilers finished third-last in the NHL with 62 points, ahead of super tankers Arizona (56 points) and Buffalo (54).
McDavid has more than lived up to the hype, asserting himself as the game’s best player with three Hart Trophies, four Ted Lindsay Awards, five Art Ross Trophies, a Rocket Richard and even a Conn Smythe in a losing effort as playoff MVP.
2016: Matthews Is A Maple Leaf
After narrowly missing out on McDavid the year before in the lottery, the Hockey Gods had something different in store for the Maple Leafs.
Toronto finished last in the standings, but it was the first year in which three lotteries would be held to determine the top three picks.
The Leafs had 67 points, which was a very respectable number for a last-placed team, and the team was happily gifted with the lottery win. They took their franchise center, arguably a top-three player in the world and the league's best goal-scorer since he stepped into the NHL. Matthews has a Calder Trophy, a Hart, three Rocket Richards and a Ted Lindsay, and he’s become one of the best two-way centers in the world.
NHL Sour Rankings: What Lies Ahead For Every Non-Playoff TeamThe NHL is so often focused, for good reason, on the races at the top of the standings, but the NHL Sour Rankings looks at the bottom.
2017: New Jersey, Philadelphia And Dallas Win Lotteries In Chaotic Results
The 2017 draft lottery was a wild one.
Colorado had one of the worst seasons in recent history with 48 points, while Vancouver (69) and Arizona (70) each had terrible years in hopes of getting first overall.
There was no surefire bet like McDavid or Matthews in the class, but Nico Hischier and Nolan Patrick were both promising young players.
On lottery night, we saw pure chaos.
The New Jersey Devils moved from fifth to first, the Philadelphia Flyers moved from 13th to second, and the Dallas Stars moved from eighth to third.
Hischier went first overall, and he’s become one of the NHL’s top two-way centers. Colorado and Vancouver were both rewarded with Cale Makar and Elias Pettersson at fourth and fifth overall, arguably the top two players in the class.
2018: Sabres Finally Get First Overall Pick, Carolina Takes Massive Jump
After years of toiling near the bottom of the standings, including their former GM Tim Murray openly being displeased with “only” getting the second overall pick in 2015, the Sabres won the lottery.
It was a very good year to get the top pick because Rasmus Dahlin was the top prospect, and he was a virtual can’t-miss blueline prospect. His career has had some ups and downs because Buffalo has continued to toil near the bottom of the league, but Dahlin has been one of the most prolific offensive defenseman to come out of Europe ever.
2019: New Jersey Wins The Hughes Lottery
Two years after getting the Hischier pick, the Devils were back in the lottery, finishing third-last in the NHL. They were fortunate to move up three spots to first, but the chaos that ensued after that was fun for fans.
The Ottawa Senators finished at the bottom of the NHL and moved down to fourth overall, while the Los Angeles Kings fell from second-last to fifth. The New York Rangers jumped from sixth to second, and the Chicago Blackhawks went from 12th to third overall.
Hughes has been a stud for New Jersey when healthy, becoming one of the most dynamic and entertaining centers in the NHL.
2020: Rangers Lose In The Play-In, Win The COVID Lottery
The COVID-19 year was certainly a weird one. After the NHL shut down in early March, it resumed the season in the summer but chose to just do an extended post-season, including the top 24 teams instead of the top 16.
The league held a lottery with the eight teams out of the extended playoffs, as well as eight teams designated as Team A through Team H. Team E won the first overall pick, followed by the Kings and Senators.
Once the play-in round was held and the initial eight teams were eliminated, they held a second lottery for those teams to see who would be granted the distinction of being Team E and winning the first overall pick.
The Rangers won that lottery and picked first overall in one of the oddest drafts in league history, with so many players worldwide playing limited games because of the global pandemic.
The Rangers selected Alexis Lafreniere, who has been a solid scoring winger, but he’s been overshadowed by Tim Stutzle (third overall), Lucas Raymond (fourth) and Jake Sanderson (fifth overall) among others to this point in the careers of the 2020 draft class.
2021: Buffalo Tanks Successfully By Accident, Seattle Joins The League At Second Overall
In what would be an even weirder draft, the Sabres won the second COVID-19 lottery as the NHL went down to two lotteries instead of three to help offset the odds of a team finishing last and picking fourth.
Buffalo retained its first overall slot, and it took Owen Power in a year that was horrible for scouts.
Players played limited games, and the OHL shut down for the year. It was an incredibly tough year to evaluate, as almost all scouting was done on video, which put NHL scouts out of their comfort zone.
Power returned to the University of Michigan immediately after being drafted, but he would join the Sabres shortly after his season ended, and he’s been a solid defenseman, albeit a work in progress.
The Seattle Kraken, meanwhile, received the second overall pick in their inaugural draft. They took Matty Beniers, who won the Calder Trophy as the top rookie in 2022-23.
2022: Montreal Wins The Wright-Slafkovsky Sweepstakes
As the hockey world – and real world – began to return to normal after COVID, the NHL draft world was hyper-focused on Shane Wright in the OHL, returning to play after losing a full season to the pandemic.
Wright was very good, but some scouts had questions about the developmental lapse the time off would have and his lack of dynamism. Montreal won the lottery after finishing last in the league.
The Habs hosted the draft that year, and although fans outside of the arena were already wearing Canadiens jerseys with Wright’s No. 51 on the back, they instead took hulking Slovak winger Juraj Slafkovsky.
While Wright has slowly worked his way into the NHL and looks poised for a breakout next season in Seattle, he fell to fourth overall. The Habs have been ecstatic with the development of Slafkovsky as he’s found chemistry with their top players and become an integral part of their future.
2025 NHL Draft Lottery Day Announced: How It Works, And What Are The Odds?The 2025 NHL draft lottery is scheduled for Monday, May 5, when we will know which team has the top pick in June.
2023: Chicago Is Bad For Bedard
Chicago fully embraced its new reality as a bottom-feeder rather than a Cup contender, and it paid off.
The Hawks moved from third to first in the lottery, giving them the chance to select WHL superstar Connor Bedard, a player many deemed generational. There was plenty of tanking in the NHL because of the prospect of drafting Bedard, but with Leo Carlsson, Adam Fantilli and Matvei Michkov also available, this draft was loaded with talent up top for anyone who missed out on first overall.
Chicago has a bright future because of Bedard, but growing pains in Year 2 after winning the Calder as a rookie showcase Chicago’s need to do more for their franchise star.
2024: San Jose’s Tank Pays Off With Celebrini
The Sharks committed fully to tanking, and they’ve done a masterful job. It’s only been a year since they retained the first overall pick and selected Macklin Celebrini, but the spirits in San Jose have been sky-high because of how complete of a player he’s been since stepping foot in the NHL.
They are once again in position to select first overall as they finished dead last for a second straight year. They could have back-to-back franchise-altering picks that shape their franchise for the next 15 years with Celebrini as their No. 1 center and a possible future top-pair defender in Matthew Schaefer or a second franchise center in Michael Misa.
Get the
latest news and trending stories by following The Hockey News on Google News and by
subscribing to The Hockey News newsletter here. And share your thoughts by commenting below
the article on THN.com.
