The New Jersey Devils have a recent history with the NHL Draft Lottery. In 2017, they won their first-ever opportunity to pick first overall in the NHL Draft. They famously came in second on multiple occasions, including in 1984 when they picked Kirk Muller while the Pittsburgh Penguins selected Mario Lemieux first overall. They picked third in 1985 (Craig Wolanin) and 1986 (Neil Brady), before falling back to second in 1987, where they took Hall of Famer Brenden Shanahan.
In 2011, the Devils “won” the draft lottery, moving up from eighth to fourth. That gave them the opportunity to draft Adam Larsson. Of course, the Devils did get a first-overall pick from this draft eventually, trading Larsson for 2010 first-overall pick Taylor Hall.
When the Devils finally got that chance to pick first in the draft, it was one of the biggest toss-ups in recent memory. Nico Hischier and Nolan Patrick were the expected top picks, but Cale Makar and Miro Heiskanen were lurking there, as well. The Devils won the lottery with 8.5% odds.
When the Devils got a chance to take Jack Hughes, they had slightly better odds. They were the third-worst in the NHL that season, giving them 11.5% odds to get the American star. Some were trying to argue that Kaapo Kakko should be in the conversation, but he was never worthy of that hype.
They won another draft lottery, but only to move up to second overall in 2022. They took Simon Nemec, who is now at the end of his entry-level contract. Reports say that the Devils considered trading the pick, but they chose the Slovak defenseman instead.
On Tuesday night, the Devils have a chance to win the draft lottery again. However, as in 2011, they have no shot at getting the number-one overall pick. They can only move up 10 spots, which would put them at second overall.
During the lottery’s two drafts, the Devils are given 25 number combinations. That might sound like good odds, but it amounts to 2.5% to win. The Vancouver Canucks, who have the best odds, have 185 number combinations. Even the New York Rangers have 115 at third-best odds.
According to Puck Pedia, here are the number combinations that would get the Devils a chance to take Penn State star Gavin McKenna, if the lottery winner takes someone else.
1 4 6 9
1 4 11 13
1 6 8 14
2 3 4 12
2 3 8 13
2 3 8 14
2 5 11 13
2 6 10 14
2 7 9 10
3 6 8 10
3 6 9 11
3 6 12 13
3 7 8 12
3 7 10 13
4 6 7 14
4 9 11 13
4 9 12 14
5 6 7 10
5 6 7 13
5 9 10 14
5 12 13 14
6 7 11 12
6 10 11 12
7 8 11 12
8 11 12 13
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