New Jersey Devils Surprisingly Benefit From New NHL Draft Lottery Odds

The New Jersey Devils were supposed to have the fourth-best odds in the 2021 NHL Draft. They had the third-worst record in the NHL, but the Seattle Kraken were guaranteed the third-best odds in the draft no matter how bad some of the other teams were. At least, that’s what we originally thought.

Most teams saw their odds lowered because of the addition of the Seattle Kraken. The NHL could have just made the easy choice of removing the Arizona Coyotes from the lottery and then keeping the odds the same, but this benefits the Devils so let’s ignore my logic.

The Devils and the New York Rangers are the only teams in the NHL to see their odds get better because of the addition of Seattle. The Devils had the best increase in odds. As the fourth team in the lottery, they were supposed to get a 9.5% chance to pick first overall, but these new odds give them 10.8%. Thats’ actually a significant increase. To compare, the Buffalo Sabres were supposed to get 18.5% odds of picking first overall. Now, their odds are only 16.6%. Mark that as another loss for the Sabres.

The Kraken themselves suffered a loss before ever seeing a puck drop in team history. They were supposed to have 11.5% odds, but now they are even with the Devils with 10.8%.

This was a rare win for Devils fans. They are looking to add a number-one defenseman, and there are some intriguing names in this draft. Obviously, the player most people circle is Luke Hughes. He’s the brother of Devils former number-one overall pick Jack Hughes, and he has a chance to be the best player in the draft. Owen Power is the consensus number-one overall pick, but the Michigan product isn’t a consensus like Hughes or Alexis Lafreniere was in years past.

This will be an interesting night. The draft lottery takes place Wednesday, June 2nd. It could be a rare win for the Devils in 2021.