As the NHL regular season concludes, 16 teams are setting their sights on the Stanley Cup Playoffs. For the other 16 teams, attention shifts to the draft lottery, scheduled for May, where they hope to secure a high draft pick.
The San Jose Sharks, finishing with the league`s poorest performance, enter the lottery with the best odds, a 25.5 percent chance, to claim the coveted first overall selection. Notably, the Sharks also picked first in the previous year`s draft, choosing Macklin Celebrini from Boston University.
The lottery will determine the top two picks. Following the first draw, the odds for the remaining teams will be recalculated for the second lottery winner.
Only the bottom 11 teams are eligible to win the No. 1 pick through the lottery, as teams can only move up a maximum of 10 positions in the draft order.
Here are the lottery odds for 2025:
| Team | Record | Pct | Odds at No. 1 (%) | Odds of Winning Lottery (%) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| San Jose Sharks | 20-50-12 | .317 | 25.5 | 18.5 |
| Chicago Blackhawks | 25-46-11 | .372 | 13.5 | 13.5 |
| Nashville Predators | 30-44-8 | .415 | 11.5 | 11.5 |
| Philadelphia Flyers | 33-39-10 | .463 | 9.5 | 9.5 |
| Boston Bruins | 33-39-10 | .463 | 8.5 | 8.5 |
| Seattle Kraken | 35-41-6 | .463 | 7.5 | 7.5 |
| Buffalo Sabres | 36-39-7 | .482 | 6.5 | 6.5 |
| Anaheim Ducks | 35-37-10 | .488 | 6.0 | 6.0 |
| Pittsburgh Penguins | 34-36-12 | .488 | 5.0 | 5.0 |
| New York Islanders | 35-35-12 | .500 | 3.5 | 3.5 |
| New York Rangers* | 39-36-7 | .518 | 3.0 | 3.0 |
| Detroit Red Wings | 39-36-8 | .524 | 0.0 | 2.5 |
| Columbus Blue Jackets | 40-33-9 | .543 | 0.0 | 2.0 |
| Utah Hockey Club | 38-31-13 | .543 | 0.0 | 1.5 |
| Vancouver Canucks | 38-30-14 | .549 | 0.0 | 0.5 |
| Montreal Canadiens (Via CGY)^ | 41-27-14 | .585 | 0.0 | 0.5 |
*The Rangers` pick is top-13 protected through the J.T. Miller trade and was subsequently traded to the Penguins by the Canucks. New York can decide to give the pick to Pittsburgh if it falls in the top 13, but if it doesn`t, its 2026 first-round will go to the Penguins unprotected.
^ The Montreal Canadiens received a top-10 selection from the Calgary Flames in a 2022 deal for Sean Monahan. If the pick were to be chosen in the lottery, the Flames would pick sixth.
In the previous year`s draft lottery, there were no changes in team positions after the drawing.
Unlike recent years, there`s no clear favorite for the No. 1 pick in the upcoming draft. However, potential top selections include defenseman Matthew Schaefer, and centers Michael Misa, Caleb Desnoyers, and James Hagens.
Tristan Blackwood