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2018 NHL Draft Lottery Odds

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The regular season is over and for the first time in NHL history there are 15 teams on the outside of the playoff picture. For those squads and their fans, it’s a long wait for anything positive to come, with the 2018 NHL Entry Draft more than ten weeks away, scheduled for June 18th, and the start of free agency another two weeks after that. However, the odds for this year’s NHL Draft Lottery are now set and teams can at least look forward to the ping pong balls being drawn at the end of the month, on Saturday, April 28th. With the teams in the running now set, here are the odds for the #1 overall pick in this years draft:

31st – Buffalo Sabres: 18.5%

30th – Ottawa Senators: 13.5%

29th – Arizona Coyotes: 11.5%

28th – Montreal Canadiens: 9.5%

27th – Detroit Red Wings: 8.5%

26th – Vancouver Canucks: 7.5%

25th – Chicago Blackhawks: 6.5%

24th – New York Rangers: 6.0%

23rd – Edmonton Oilers: 5.0%

22nd – New York Islanders: 3.5%

21st – Carolina Hurricanes: 3.0%

20th – New York Islanders (from Calgary Flames): 2.5%

19th – Dallas Stars: 2.0%

18th – Philadelphia Flyers (from St. Louis Blues (top-ten option)): 1.5%

17th – Florida Panthers: 1.0%

If you are a fan of one of these teams, you can entertain yourself for the next few weeks with this Lottery Simulator from Tankathon.com.

West Notes: Blues, Flames, Canucks

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The St. Louis Blues just narrowly missed out on making the playoffs this season, losing in regulation to the Colorado Avalanche in their regular season finale – the only result that could have eliminated them from the postseason picture. To add insult to injury, the Blues have also played the 2017-18 season without an AHL affiliate, leaving fans without the consolation prize of at least watching a team of St. Louis prospects make a playoff run. Nevertheless, the team has assigned goalie Ville Husso and defenseman Chris Butler to the San Antonio Rampage, the team with the majority of the Blues’ minor league prospects. Yet, the Rampage sit in last place in the extremely tight AHL Pacific Division with just three games remaining. Dejected Blues fans may have to follow Beau Bennett and Wade Megan with the Chicago Wolves or Jordan Binnington with the Providence Bruins if they want a horse in the race come AHL playoff time.

  • Calgary Flames GM Brad Treliving told the Canadian Press that his team has a “laundry list” of issues to sort out this off-season. After making the postseason last year and, as the article notes, adding Mike Smith and Travis Hamonic last summer, missing the playoffs this year can only be seen as a disappointment and Treliving is ready to make changes. At the top of that “laundry list” is deciding what to do with head coach Glen Gulutzan. Beyond that, one list item specifically mentioned by Treliving is figuring out how to fix the Flames’ tepid power play, which finished 29th in the league and only got worse as the season wore on. As Treliving puts it, “In a league where the margins are thin, it’s not surprising that the teams that are successful in (special teams) usually have successful years, so it was critical.”
  • One team that will be far less active this off-season are the Vancouver Canucks. Jeff Paterson of TSN gets the feeling that this could be one of the quietest Canuck off-seasons in years. President Trevor Linden spoke with the media today and stated that “Obviously on a day like this, we’re disappointed by not achieving all of our goals. At the same time, we’re encouraged as an organization with where we are moving forward. I think this group has an identity with its young players. That’s exciting” Paterson read this statement as saying that after back-to-back busy summers, the team is disappointed in its performance, but with a young core and plenty of depth in talented prospects, this is a team moving in the right direction. For that reason, Paterson hypothesizes that it could be a “wait and see”-type summer, writing “Outside of the National Hockey League draft lottery and the draft itself, don’t be the least bit surprised if you don’t hear a peep from the Vancouver Canucks until training camp.”

Sean Monahan Underwent Four Surgeries, Expected To Be Ready For Training Camp

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Every year, players reveal in their season-ending interviews that they had been playing through injuries and would require surgery. Not many announce that they’ve already undergone four procedures. That’s what Sean Monahan revealed to reporters today, including Jermain Franklin of TSN who reports the Calgary Flames forward had reconstructive surgery on his wrist, along with procedures on both hips and his groin.

Monahan last played on March 21st, and expects to be back to full strength in three months. That means he’ll be ready for Flames training camp, and will try to help the team rebound from an utterly disappointing 2017-18.

Despite playing with injuries for much of the year, Monahan still set a career-high in points with 64 and scored a team-leading 31 goals. The 23-year old center is an exceptional offensive player, and looks ready to take the next step to becoming one of the elite two-way players in the game. Along with Johnny Gaudreau, who also set a career-high with 84 points, Monahan was one of the few positives in Calgary this season. A season that began with high hopes after the acquisitions of Travis Hamonic and Mike Smith quickly turned to disappointment and an early trip to the golf course.

Calgary missed the playoffs for the seventh time in nine years, and now face a very long wait at the upcoming draft. While they already signed Mikael Backlund to a long-term extension, they have other important decisions to make about how to improve a club that was built to contend this season.

Minor Transactions: 4/8/18

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With the Eastern Conference still undecided until today’s final regular season game, the Western Conference has no questions as the Colorado Avalanche finished off the St. Louis Blues in a 5-2 victory Saturday as they clinched the final playoff spot. The Nashville Predators got the top spot and will face the Avalanche. In other first-round matchups, the Vegas Golden Knights will face the Los Angeles Kings, the Anaheim Ducks will face the San Jose Sharks and the Minnesota Wild will face the Winnipeg Jets. 

Black Monday: The Day The Coaches (Could) Disappear

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The NHL looks like it will finish an entire season without seeing a single coach fired for the first time since expansion in 1967, but there could be a dark lining on that stat coming next week. “Black Monday” as it is being termed could be coming after the final game of the regular season this Sunday, with close to a dozen coaches finding themselves on the hot seat.

In last night’s Insider Trading segment on TSN, Bob McKenzie broke down a list of potential firings that looked like this:

Glen Gulutzan, Calgary Flames
Bill Peters, Carolina Hurricanes
Joel Quenneville, Chicago Blackhawks
Jeff Blashill, Detroit Red Wings
Todd McLellan, Edmonton Oilers
Doug Weight, New York Islanders
Alain Vigneault, New York Rangers
Guy Boucher, Ottawa Senators
Barry Trotz, Washington Capitals

Some of these names simply don’t have a contract for next season, including Trotz, who also happens to be the only coach on the list heading to the playoffs. The Capitals have won the Metropolitan Division for the third year in a row, but will be judged entirely on their postseason performance. Washington must find some success past the second round, or there could be a shake up in order starting with the man behind the bench.

The rest of the list is a who’s who of disappointing seasons, with Quenneville sticking out like a sore thumb. Arguably one of the best coaches of all-time, Quenneville’s firing could cause what McKenzie terms a ripple effect throughout the league. Though he doesn’t expand on that idea, many have wondered whether another team would fire their incumbent to have the opportunity to hire Quenneville should he become a free agent, much like the Montreal Canadiens did last season when Claude Julien was let go from Boston.

In New York, while both coaches might not be back it would be for very different reasons. Vigneault has had a lot of regular season success with the Rangers, but as they enter into an unfamiliar rebuild they could want to start with a fresh face behind the bench. For Weight and the Islanders, this season was an abject failure as they tried to woo John Tavares with a trip to the postseason. They won’t get there, and now have to worry about whether their captain and superstar will stick around.

There could be many other names you could suggest for the list, and it is extremely unlikely that all of these will get the boot before the start of 2018-19. You can be sure some changes are coming though, even if it does come after a remarkable season of patience by general managers around the league.

Minor Transactions: 04/02/18

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The NHL is down to the last week of the season, with all games scheduled to be wrapped up by Sunday night. With that in mind, we’ll keep track of all the minor moves around the league and give context on how they could impact the playoff picture. Check back throughout the day to stay up to date on your favorite team.

  • According to Mike Harrington of the Buffalo News, the Buffalo Sabres have recalled Matt Tennyson from the minor leagues to help replace the injured Victor Antipin. Antipin was knocked unconscious this weekend against the Nashville Predators, and won’t play again this season. Tennyson has played 14 games for the Sabres this season, though most of his work has come in the AHL. The 27-year old defenseman is still looking for his first NHL point of the season.
  • Back and forth goes Oliver Kylington, who has been recalled once again by the Calgary Flames today. Kylington is still looking to get a chance at the NHL level, but the 20-year old defenseman has seen positive progression while in the minor leagues.
  • Thatcher Demko is on his way back to the minor leagues, in time to help the Utica Comets with their playoff push. If the AHL playoffs started today, the Comets would have to dangerous Toronto Marlies in the first round, a matchup that would really test Demko and give him an opportunity to show he’s too good for the minor leagues.
  • The Boston Bruins have recalled Colby Cave from the minor leagues under emergency conditions, bringing up the forward once again. Cave made his NHL debut earlier this year, and could get back into the lineup if one of the injured players for Boston can’t play.
  • The Chicago Blackhawks have swapped goaltenders, recalling Jeff Glass from the minor leagues and sending Collin Delia back down. Delia had a very interesting debut, suiting up after Anton Forsberg was injured, only to suffer an injury himself and relinquish the net to emergency goaltender Scott Foster. Delia has played at three different professional levels already this season, impressive for an undrafted goaltender out of Merrimack College.
  • The Dallas Stars have reassigned Jason Dickinson to the minor leagues, giving him back to the Texas Stars for their playoff run. Texas will welcome him back with open arms, as Dickinson has 16 goals in just 36 games this season.

Minor Transactions: 4/1/18

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As the Stanley Cup playoffs begin to creep closer, the playoff picture is slowly starting to take shape as teams are slowly clinching playoff spots. While the Western Conference has just three teams that have clinched a spot, the Eastern Conference already has five teams that have earned their way into the playoffs. Throw in multiple injuries and many teams are likely to be making moves today to keep their rosters together for the final week of the regular season.

  • After calling him up on an emergency loan on Saturday, the Calgary Flames have assigned defenseman Oliver Kylington to the Stockton Heat of the AHL on Sunday. He did not make it into Saturday’s game. The 20-year-old blueliner
  • The St. Louis Blues assigned defenseman Chris Butler to the San Antonio Rampage of the AHL after recalling the veteran blueliner on an emergency recall Saturday. He did not get in Saturday’s game as he served as an extra defender.
  • The Winnipeg Jets announced they have recalled defenseman Sami Niku. The 21-year-old has been having an excellent rookie year with the Manitoba Moose of the AHL. The 2015 seventh-round pick has put up 15 goals and 37 assists this year and is tied for first among AHL-blueliners in points with 52. He could make his debut Monday. Jets insider Jamie Thomas writes that Niku will likely fill in for resting players for the playoffs, while the team also hopes to get a long look at the youngster.
  • With the Minnesota Wild facing life without Ryan Suter, the team has recalled Carson Soucy from the AHL. Soucy has recorded 15 points in his first professional season, after signing out of the NCAA last spring. The 6’4″ defenseman’s recall is under emergency conditions, meaning he won’t count to the four post-deadline call-ups.
  • Roland McKeown is on his way back up for the Carolina Hurricanes, recalled after just a few days in the minor leagues. McKeown has two points in the seven games he’s played for the Hurricanes this year, his debut NHL season.

Minor Transactions: 3/31/18

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Today’s slate of 12 games carries some serious weight, like most days this late in the season. The two-time defending champion Pittsburgh Penguins can clinch a playoff spot with a win and a Florida Panthers regulation loss and their 2016 Cup competitors, the San Jose Sharks, can also get in with a win over the Vegas Golden Knights. Anything less than a regulation win for the Sharks will seal the Pacific Division for the Knights, while a Vegas loss and Winnipeg Jets regulation loss will give the Western Conference title to the Nashville Predators. On the other end of the spectrum, the Carolina Hurricanes and Dallas stars are in action today with their tragic numbers down to one. Both teams must win and hope the New Jersey Devils and St. Louis Blues respectively lose to keep their playoff hopes alive. There is a lot at stake; keep track of how the teams are preparing today right here:

  • Michal Neuvirth continues to struggle with his lower-body injuries and will be unable to go against the Boston Bruins tomorrow. As a result, the Philadelphia Flyers announced that they have recalled young Alex Lyon from the AHL’s Lehigh Valley Phantoms on an emergency basis to serve as Petr Mrazek’s backup. Lyon has made 11 appearances for Philly in his rookie season as a dependable option to deal with the team’s many goaltending woes.
  • Another emergency recall is defenseman Chris Butler, per the St. Louis Blues. After Jordan Schmaltz left the Blues’ game last night with an upper-body injury and did not return, St. Louis needed a replacement and got one by bringing up Butler from the AHL’s San Antonio Rampage. Butler has skated in just two NHL games this season, but is enjoying a career year in the minor leagues with 29 points and a +12 rating in 60 games.
  • The Edmonton Oilers have also made an emergency recall, adding Keegan Lowe to the blue line from the AHL’s Bakersfield Condors. Despite multiple call-ups, Lowe has not yet debuted for the Oilers, but could get his chance against the Calgary Flames today.
  • The Calgary Flames announced they have recalled defenseman Oliver Kylington from the Stockton Heat of the AHL as an emergency call-up. He has been added as the extra defenseman in case one of their six defenseman are either injured or ill. Kylington, the team’s second-round pick in 2015, has been having a solid year in his third AHL season. He has five goals and 26 assists in 56 games this season. He has played one NHL game in his career, back in the 2015-16 season.
  • The Buffalo Sabres have assigned forward Kyle Criscuolo to the Rochester Americans of the AHL. The 25-year-old forward hasn’t played since Mar. 5 with a shoulder injury and now that he is skating, it is believed he will return to Rochester for their AHL playoff run. Criscuolo has played nine games for the Sabres this season, with no points. He has 15 goals in 50 games with the Americans this year.

Minor Transactions: 03/29/18

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The Arizona Coyotes are playing the ultimate spoiler down the stretch, winning again last night against the Vegas Golden Knights to draw even with the Vancouver Canucks for last in the Western Conference. Arizona has played well of late, giving them some hope for next season as they look to build around a young core.

For the Coyotes and all the teams out of the playoffs, now is the time to experiment with players who might not have had a chance to prove what they can do earlier in the season. With that, we’ll keep track of all the minor transactions around the league right here.

  • The Boston Bruins have sent Paul Postma back to the minors while recalling Tommy Cross under emergency conditions. Cross, the Providence Bruins captain, has played 66 games in the AHL this season and could be getting just a nice bonus for a good season. The 28-year old defenseman wasn’t on any of the pairings at morning skate, as both Zdeno Chara and Matt Grzelcyk took their normal spots.
  • The Ottawa Senators have recalled Colin White under emergency conditions, and announced that Chris Wideman will not play again this season. White has played 15 games with the Senators this season, but failed to make enough of an impact to keep him in the lineup full-time. The 21-year old forward is still a big part of the Senators’ future, but hasn’t had the season many had hoped from him after his dominant career at Boston College.
  • Josh Jooris has been recalled by the Pittsburgh Penguins as Derick Brassard battles injury, meaning Riley Sheahan probably moves back to the third line center position. Jooris was acquired from the Carolina Hurricanes for just this reason, giving the Penguins some added depth should they face injury.
  • Pheonix Copley has been re-assigned once again, sent back to the minor leagues after a short recall. Copley has been filling in for the Washington Capitals when needed, but still hasn’t actually entered a game.
  • Spencer Foo is coming up for the Calgary Flames, using their fourth post-deadline recall. Foo was signed out of the NCAA last spring, and has made an impact in the AHL during his first season of professional hockey. He’ll likely get a chance to make his NHL debut over the last week of the season, and compete for a full-time job next fall.
  • With Semyon Varlamov (illness) and Jonathan Bernier (infection) both expected to be available on Friday night, the Avalanche have returned goaltender Spencer Martin to San Antonio of the AHL.  Martin has not seen any action with Colorado this season but has appeared in 32 games at the minor league level, posting a 3.02 GAA and a .895 SV%.

Minor Transactions: 03/26/18

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As teams around the league continue to snap up their college recruits and add them to the NHL roster, others are just playing out the string hoping for better odds at the draft lottery. Still, the league will continue to make minor transactions right up until the end of the season and we’ll keep track of them all right here. Check back throughout the day to stay up to date.

  • After announcing that Nick Foligno will be out for two to four weeks, the Columbus Blue Jackets have recalled Alex Broadhurst from the minor leagues. Broadhurst has yet to make his NHL debut, but leads the Cleveland Monsters in scoring this season with 41 points in 66 games. Foligno will try to get back in time for the playoffs, but in the meantime the Blue Jackets will need to sort out their center position without his help.
  • Pheonix Copley is on his way back to the minor leagues, now that Braden Holtby has overcome the minor injury he was dealing with. Copley didn’t get into a game in his short stint, and is still waiting to make his Washington Capitals debut. The 26-year old goaltender could get a chance next season, if the Capitals decide that a new contract for Philipp Grubauer—who is scheduled to be a restricted free agent once again—is too expensive.
  • The Calgary Flames have swapped goaltenders, sending David Rittich to the minor leagues while recalling Jon Gillies. The Flames are all but eliminated from postseason contention after losing five in a row, and will have a tough offseason to deal with after trading several future draft picks to try and contend for the Stanley Cup this season.
  • Roberto Luongo is healthy for the Florida Panthers, as they have assigned Harri Sateri back to the minor leagues. The Panthers are in action tonight against the New York Islanders, with James Reimer starting in goal.

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