The 2020-21 season has been a bag of mixed emotions for most Anaheim Ducks fans. Many of us walked the fine line between skepticism and optimism to start the year, especially considering comments made by Kevin Shattenkirk at the beginning of the season.
Bob Murray may have had his sight set on the Playoffs, but it quickly became apparent that our feathered friends would spend the season amongst the bottom feeders of the league. Playoff dreams quickly shifted to Draft dreams, and we all boarded the Tankenhiem train once again.
2021 NHL Draft Lottery
Date: Wednesday, June 2, 2021
Time: 4 pm PT/7 pm ET
TV: NBCSN, SN, TVA, NHLN, and fuboTV
New Draft Lottery Rules
This year, the NHL has announced that changes will be made to the structure of the Draft Lottery. Starting this year, the Lottery will be reduced from the usual three drawings to two. The Buffalo Sabres and Anaheim Ducks have the best odds for the first and second overall picks this year. However, we all know how much the hockey gods love to cause chaos at the Draft Lottery (the New York Rangers getting the first overall pick last year for example.)
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Two more rules will be introduced at the 2022 Draft Lottery. Teams will be restricted from moving up more than 10 spots if they win one of the lottery drawings. This will ensure that the team with the worst record during the regular season cannot draft any lower than 3rd overall. With these new rules, there are only 11 teams eligible to win the first pick.
The second rule that will be implemented next year is that a team cannot win the lottery more than twice in a five-year period. Wins prior to 2022 will not be counted against a team. Nevertheless, it will level the playing field a bit more, giving other teams a fair shot at winning the draft lottery. We will no longer see the same teams winning draft lottery picks nor will we see teams constantly fall (i.e. the Detroit Red Wings.)
Anaheim Ducks Draft Lottery Odds
The Ducks ended the season 30th in the league with 43 points. In a 56 game season, they had a win-loss record of 17-30-9. To say the Anaheim Ducks had a rough season would be quite the understatement. To be honest, the break has been nice.
But, now it’s time for Murray and the front office to get down to business. Surely they’ve already started putting together an offseason plan, but the Draft Lottery will give them more direction. Today is the day, and the Anaheim Ducks are walking into it with the second-best odds, behind Buffalo, for winning the first or second overall pick.
Odds for Drafting 1st Overall: 12.1%
Odds for Drafting 2nd Overall: 11.7%
Odds for Drafting 3rd Overall: 26.9%
Odds for Drafting 4th Overall: 49.3%
We wish the Anaheim Ducks the best of luck! Regardless of the results, the Anaheim Ducks will have the opportunity to draft another player whose talents will aid them in their rebuild. Fingers crossed the balls fall in their favor.
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