Pick the 2026 NHL DRAFT Lottery Winner

[BalotelliMassive]

If the Blues didn't win they should be thrilled San Jose did.. they might be the only team in a position to get a top pick that might entertain trading it.

San Jose needs defense more than anything.

[TBone]

If the Blues didn't win they should be thrilled San Jose did.. they might be the only team in a position to get a top pick that might entertain trading it.

Except I could see Army and Steen overpaying them just to draft another Stenberg.

[Rollin' on the River]

Now, legitimate question. If you’re Toronto, do you let Boston have the first overall pick this year in a draft? That’s really not that good. Knowing full well that if you suck as bad next year, which is probably likely, they’ll get it regardless in a much better draft?

Do you gamble McKenna/Sternberg this year and hopefully get DuPont next year?

[smilinjoefission]

If the Blues didn't win they should be thrilled San Jose did.. they might be the only team in a position to get a top pick that might entertain trading it.

BINGO...we'll see what magic Steen can conjure

[Backesdraft]

Only the NHL could put a system in place that rewards a team who’s been to 3 straight cup finals and won 2 straight with a top ten pick the next year.

Effing Christ…

[MandatoryDenial]

If the Blues didn't win they should be thrilled San Jose did.. they might be the only team in a position to get a top pick that might entertain trading it.

Except I could see Army and Steen overpaying them just to draft another Stenberg.

I guess it now boils down to what you think will be an overpayment. Personally I doubt Mike Grier trades this pick. I could absolutely see him drafting one of the stud D-men with it. That seems to me to be what he needs. I am guessing Chase Reid goes to San Jose.

[Younghopp1991]

Some teams gets quality depth, some teams get star depth.

[stljrs]

Please somebody explain how a team has a 19% chance at winning if they are represented by 1 ball? Vancouver had the same number of balls in that machine as the Blues did. Looked like every team was represented by 1 ball. How do those percentages work out?

Right. Somebody chalked it up to him raffle ticket. If I don’t have 20% of 14 raffle tickets in the hopper then I don’t have a 20% chance of winning.

Yep. That machine should have had at least 100 balls in it if not more but it had 1 ball per team. I'd just like to know how they came up with those so called percentages.

Did you watch the lottery? It wasn’t one ball per team. 14 balls creates 1001 possible 4 ball combinations. Teams were assigned sets of 4 ball combinations based on the lottery. Vancouver got 185 of the 1000 possible combinations. The Blues got 30 for theirs plus 5 for Detroits.

[LGB73]

Only the NHL could put a system in place that rewards a team who’s been to 3 straight cup finals and won 2 straight with a top ten pick the next year.

Effing Christ…

They're exactly who I'd look to trade up with if there is a player we really want like Rudolph.

[IsDurbanodoingtime]

Don’t care what anybody says…this [nonsense] is rigged..ain’t nobody changing my mind. Feel bad for Canucks fans

In what world is bettman rewarding chayka- a guy he loathes and went out of his way to make an exampe of - with the first overall as a welcoming gift ? C'mon.

[Younghopp1991]

Please somebody explain how a team has a 19% chance at winning if they are represented by 1 ball? Vancouver had the same number of balls in that machine as the Blues did. Looked like every team was represented by 1 ball. How do those percentages work out?

Right. Somebody chalked it up to him raffle ticket. If I don’t have 20% of 14 raffle tickets in the hopper then I don’t have a 20% chance of winning.

Yep. That machine should have had at least 100 balls in it if not more but it had 1 ball per team. I'd just like to know how they came up with those so called percentages.

Did you watch the lottery? It wasn’t one ball per team. 14 balls creates 1001 possible 4 ball combinations. Teams were assigned sets of 4 ball combinations based on the lottery. Vancouver got 185 of the 1000 possible combinations. The Blues got 30 for theirs plus 5 for Detroits.

He is saying that a team with 1 remaining number had a higher percentage than a team with 2 possible numbers.

[Walter Sobchak00]

Only the NHL could put a system in place that rewards a team who’s been to 3 straight cup finals and won 2 straight with a top ten pick the next year.

Effing Christ…

Blue font? (what you described is possible in the NFL, NBA, and MLB.)

[Pierre McGuire]

Don’t care what anybody says…this [nonsense] is rigged..ain’t nobody changing my mind. Feel bad for Canucks fans

In what world is bettman rewarding chayka- a guy he loathes and went out of his way to make an exampe of - with the first overall as a welcoming gift ? C'mon.

Chayka has nothing to do with it

[Walter Sobchak00]

Please somebody explain how a team has a 19% chance at winning if they are represented by 1 ball? Vancouver had the same number of balls in that machine as the Blues did. Looked like every team was represented by 1 ball. How do those percentages work out?

Right. Somebody chalked it up to him raffle ticket. If I don’t have 20% of 14 raffle tickets in the hopper then I don’t have a 20% chance of winning.

Yep. That machine should have had at least 100 balls in it if not more but it had 1 ball per team. I'd just like to know how they came up with those so called percentages.

Did you watch the lottery? It wasn’t one ball per team. 14 balls creates 1001 possible 4 ball combinations. Teams were assigned sets of 4 ball combinations based on the lottery. Vancouver got 185 of the 1000 possible combinations. The Blues got 30 for theirs plus 5 for Detroits.

He is saying that a team with 1 remaining number had a higher percentage than a team with 2 possible numbers.

I don't think he's saying that but Vancouver had 3 balls left on the last draw.

[Whatashame]

I’m watched the draft, I saw the guy explaining how it works. I was hoping for the Blues to strike some kind of hockey magic. After everything, someone explain to me why the NHL does the draft lottery this way. I truly don’t understand what they are doing. 4 sets of balls with numbers on them are drawn to establish who the number one pick is, then it’s repeated to decide who the number 2 pick is. It sure seems like some convoluted way that hardly anyone understands to decide who gets the first then second pick of the draft.

[HighStick]

Please somebody explain how a team has a 19% chance at winning if they are represented by 1 ball? Vancouver had the same number of balls in that machine as the Blues did. Looked like every team was represented by 1 ball. How do those percentages work out?

Right. Somebody chalked it up to him raffle ticket. If I don’t have 20% of 14 raffle tickets in the hopper then I don’t have a 20% chance of winning.

Yep. That machine should have had at least 100 balls in it if not more but it had 1 ball per team. I'd just like to know how they came up with those so called percentages.

Did you watch the lottery? It wasn’t one ball per team. 14 balls creates 1001 possible 4 ball combinations. Teams were assigned sets of 4 ball combinations based on the lottery. Vancouver got 185 of the 1000 possible combinations. The Blues got 30 for theirs plus 5 for Detroits.

The four digit combo code doesn't make a lot of sense.