The Canadiens are hoping for some luck in Tuesday's NHL lottery

The Habs have an 8.5% chance to land at No. 1, but their best chance is to go sixth overall.

Author of the article:

Stew Cowan • Montreal Gazette

Posted on May 6, 2024 • 2 minutes of reading

Center McLean Celebrini, who played for Canada at the World Junior Championship last December, is considered the top player in this year's NHL Entry Draft. Photo by BJORN LARSON ROSVALL /TT News Agency/AFP via Getty Images

The Canadiens' rebuilding plan will get a big boost if they win Tuesday's NHL lottery (6:30 p.m., SN, TVA Sports), It will be broadcast from the NHL Network studios in Secaucus, New York

The Canadiens have the fifth-best chance (8.5 percent) of winning the lottery after finishing 28th in the NHL this season and missing the playoffs for the third year in a row. The teams with the highest percentage are the San Jose Sharks (18.5 percent), the Chicago Blackhawks (13.5 percent), the Anaheim Ducks (11.5 percent) and the Columbus Blue Jackets (9.5 percent), who finished the season with the worst percentage. cent).

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Content of the article

The top-rated prospect in this year's draft is Maclin Celebrini, a 6-foot, 190-pound center who posted 32-32-64 totals in 38 games this season as a 17-year-old freshman at Boston University. The Vancouver resident turns 18 on June 13.

“Super dynamic,” said Jeff Gorton, the Canadiens' executive vice-president of hockey operations, when asked about Celebrini on The Sick podcast with Jimmy Murphy and Pierre McGuire in March. “His swing is great, he has a one-timer. There's not much he can't do. 200 foot game. He is a very special boy. I mean, 30 goals, as many points as a freshman. … There are 25-year-olds in college hockey. For what he did… I think we expected him to be good, but this is above and beyond.”

The Canadiens won the draft lottery two years ago, finishing with the worst record in the NHL and having the best odds. They selected Juraj Slafkovskiy, who went 20-30-50 in 82 games this season. Last season, the Canadiens ended up with the fifth overall pick and took defenseman David Reinbacher.

The odds are in OUR favor 👀

Check out our draft lottery preview ahead of Tuesday's drawing.

— San Jose Sharks (@SanJoseSharks) May 3, 2024

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The NHL introduced the draft lottery in 1995. In the lottery's first 29 years, the team with the best odds won the No. 1 pick 11 times. Last season, the Blackhawks had the third-best odds (11.5 percent) and won the lottery to select Connor Bedard with the No. 1 pick. Bedard went 22-39-61 in 68 games this season, missing 14 games with a broken jaw.

Three times, the team with the fifth-best chance to win the draft lottery (the Canadiens' position this season) has won the No. 1 pick. Those three teams were the New York Islanders, selected by goaltender Rick DiPietro in 2000; the Blackhawks who selected Patrick Kane in 2007; and the New Jersey Devils, who drafted Nico Hischer in 2017.

The draft lottery can be confusing and Canadians will pick first, second, third, fifth, sixth or seventh. They can't have the fourth overall pick and can't drop more than two spots in the lottery. The Canadians' highest probability is to finish sixth overall.

The Canadiens got their second first-round pick this year as a result of trading Sean Monahan to the Winnipeg Jets in February. The choice of this location will depend on how the postseason goes. The Jets were eliminated by the Colorado Avalanche in the first round of the playoffs.

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