2026 NHL draft class includes many great playersThat includes Penn State left wing Gavin McKenna, Frölunda HC forward Ivar Stenberg and Prince George Cougars defenseman Carson Carrolls.
But the No. 1 pick doesn’t just go to the team Worst regular season record. Instead, a lottery will determine the final order of the first 16 selections of the first round.
Tune in to watch Tuesday night’s action (7pm ET, ESPN), and read on for more details on how it all works, as well as which teams have the best chance to reach No. 1.
Why is there a draft lottery?
A lottery offers multiple non-playoff teams a chance to pick the No. 1 pick — an important consideration Premium value of early first round picks. In theory, it also makes sense that some teams aren’t trying their best to field competitive lineups (to put it generously), since losing a majority of games is no guarantee of getting the No. 1 pick.
Plus, it adds some extra excitement for half of the league’s fan base in the time between the end of the regular season and the draft lottery.
How do real lotteries work?
A set of 14 ping-pong balls placed in lottery machineWhich allows 1,001 combinations. In the lottery each team is assigned a set of random four-number combinations. The worse a team’s record, the more combinations they will be assigned; So the team with the worst record in the last season vancouver canucks185, which represents an 18.5% chance of winning the first lottery draw.
An accounting firm runs the process for the league, and it keeps track of which teams line up with each combination; There is also one combination that has been removed from the proceedings (to make it even 1,000 instead of 1,001).
The first draw of ping-pong balls determines the No. 1 selection based on the specified combinations. But since the rule change in 2021, a team can move up a maximum of 10 places in the order; So, if a team ranked 12–16 wins the first draw, they move up accordingly, and the lowest-placed team in the standings (in this year’s case, the Canucks) moves up to No. 1.
There is then a second draw using the same rules as the first to determine the next spot. Similarly, a team ranked No. 13-16 can still move up only 10 slots, so they will move up accordingly and the next lowest available team in the standings will receive pick No. 2.
Regardless of which teams win the draft lottery draw, the selections in Rounds 2–7 are in reverse order of the final standings after the playoffs.
A special problem that began in 2025, and continues into 2026: draws will be broadcast live, meaning fans can experience all the drama in real time.
Which teams have the best chances of winning the draw this year?
Here is the full list of each club’s draft lottery chances, and the number of combinations (out of 1,000) – similar to “lottery tickets” – that they have:
*Note: Toronto Maple Leafs‘ Pickup will be sent boston bruins As part of the 2025 trade that sent Brandon Carlo to Toronto, Until It comes in the top five. In this case, the Maple Leafs would send their 2027 or 2028 first-round pick to the Bruins.
Any other rules I need to know?
As part of the 2021 lottery rule changes, the NHL also ruled that a team cannot win the lottery more than twice in a five-year period (starting with the 2022 lottery).
New York Islanders Won the lottery last year, so if they do it again this year, they will be ineligible to do so until 2030.
