We got some clarity on the NHL’s direction from Gary Bettman’s announcement today, with the major pieces of news relating to the playoff format and the draft lottery.
Bettman confirmed that the regular season is over, meaning we may not see the Kings back on the ice until as late as the beginning of 2021. It’s going to be a long wait but in the meantime, we can still look forward to the draft and draft lottery, which was somewhat difficult to follow. I’m not sure why we wouldn’t just wait and do one draft lottery after the qualifying round rather than two separate phases but it is what it is.
The important news is that the Kings have a 9.5 per cent chance at the first overall pick but could also pick as late as seventh overall. Some fans will be upset that teams both have a chance at the Stanley Cup and the first overall pick but the odds themselves are the same as last year, where Detroit, who was 28th in the league, also had a 9.5 per cent chance at getting the first overall pick. No matter how the league did it, not everyone would be happy with it.
We’ll find out where the Kings will be picking in the draft during the first stage of the lottery on June 26.
***NOTE: We've launched a HockeyBuzz Kings Twitter account! For anyone interested, you can follow @HB_LAKings for updates on articles, Kings news, etc. We're starting right from scratch, so any followers would be appreciated!***
Here’s today’s poll question (results and discussion will be posted on the weekend):
What are your thoughts on the NHL's draft lottery system for this year?
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