The National Hockey League has decided to make some changes to the way the Draft Lottery is setup. All fourteen teams that fail to make the playoffs have a chance at getting the first pick overall; but at an increased percent. The odds make it more random in who gets the first pick with the new format. Perhaps the NHL is trying to make the game more competitive with these changes, which makes sense to me. Here is how the chart is setup for the 2015 draft…
Finish 30th = 20% chance of getting first pick: which was 25% last season. 29th = 13.5% : which was 18.8% last season. 28th = 11.5% : which was 14.2% last season. 27th = 9.5% : which was 10.7% last season. 26th = 8.5% : which was 8.1% last season. 25th = 7.5% : which was 6.2% last season. 24th = 6.5% : which was 4.7% last season. 23rd = 6% : which was 3.6% last season. 22nd = 5% : which was 2.7% last season. 21st = 3.5% : which was 2.1% last season. 20th = 3.0% : which was 1.5% last season. 19th = 2.5% : which was 1.1% last season. 18th = 2.0% : which was 0.8% last season. 17th = 1.0% : which was 0.5% last season.
The NHL says: “This will result in a more evenly-balanced allocation of odds, with the 10 highest-finishing non-Playoff qualifying teams receiving higher (better) Draft Lottery odds than they received previously and the four lowest-finishing teams receiving lower (worse) odds. The revised set of odds will remain in effect year-to-year in the future.…
There is no doubt the top 5 worst teams have a good chance at getting first pick like it should be, but those numbers have certainly come down in percentile. 25 – 20 is a 5% reduction, which is actually quite large when you think about it. Personally, I like this new format and I think the NHL should be looking at doing a 100% live draft, none of this flipping a piece of cardboard and seeing the teams logo on the other side. I’d like to see them do it so there is absolutely no transparency and everyone can watch the balls jump around like in the lottery machine and find out who gets what draft pick with that method. Any grey zone that can be eliminated that leads people to think there could be a rigged draft should be put into place. Why not?
I’m all for having it to be as fair as possible on all fronts, so at least the NHL has changed this format for the best and maybe in time they will consider the lottery balls method. What do you think about the new draft setup?
Changes in 2016:
As per the NHL: “Three draws will be held: the 1st Lottery draw will determine the Club selecting first overall, the 2nd Lottery draw will determine the Club selecting second overall and the 3rd Lottery draw will determine the club selecting third overall. As a result of this change, the team earning the fewest points during the regular season will no longer be guaranteed, at worst, the second overall pick. That club could fall as low as fourth overall.…
As you can see they are tinkering with the way the drafts are being done. It looks as if the odds of the first lottery draw will be done with the same percentages as the 2015 draft I outlined above. After the first overall pick has been decided the remaining 13 teams will have their percentages increased proportionally for the second lottery draw and of course again for the third draw.
After the three drafts are complete the remaining 11 teams that didn’t win one of the first three picks the selections will be completed in inverse order of the regular season points.
Thanks for reading.