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Montreal Canadiens Win 2022 NHL Draft Lottery

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Beginning this season, the full effect of the changes to the draft lottery rules announced last year are in place. Starting this year, teams can only move up a maximum of 10 spots if they’re selected, meaning teams originally set at picks 12, 13, 14, 15, and 16 cannot move up all the way to the first overall pick. A win for one of these teams in the first draft lottery secures the pick for the team that finished last.

The team with the best odds coming in will win the draft lottery for the second straight year, though. The Montreal Canadiens will pick first overall in their own building, the first time such an occurrence has happened since 1985 when the Toronto Maple Leafs drafted Wendel Clark at Maple Leaf Gardens. The New Jersey Devils moved up from fifth overall to second overall, bumping down the Arizona Coyotes, Seattle Kraken, and Philadelphia Flyers down one spot each.

The order for the top 16 picks of the 2022 NHL Draft is as follows:

  1. Montreal Canadiens
  2. New Jersey Devils
  3. Arizona Coyotes
  4. Seattle Kraken
  5. Philadelphia Flyers
  6. Columbus Blue Jackets (via Chicago Blackhawks)
  7. Ottawa Senators
  8. Detroit Red Wings
  9. Buffalo Sabres
  10. Anaheim Ducks
  11. San Jose Sharks
  12. Columbus Blue Jackets
  13. New York Islanders
  14. Winnipeg Jets
  15. Vancouver Canucks
  16. Buffalo Sabres (via Vegas Golden Knights)

While Shane Wright is still the consensus no. 1 overall selection across public draft boards (and NHL Central Scouting), there’s been recent noise about players like Juraj Slafkovsky and Logan Cooley potentially challenging him for first overall. That’s an upset unlikely to happen, though, as Wright had a terrific second half of the 2021-22 campaign, finishing with 32 goals, 62 assists, and 94 points in 63 games with the OHL’s Kingston Frontenacs. He also has 10 points in eight playoff games at the time of writing. While teams will draft him for his elite playmaking ability, he’s got an underrated shot when he chooses to use it as well. Standout Slovak defenseman Simon Nemec, Czech defenseman David Jiricek, Canadian forward Matthew Savoie, and Finnish forward Joakim Kemell are also names to watch for near the top of the draft board.

Shakir Mukhamadullin Assigned To AHL

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  • The New Jersey Devils have officially assigned Shakir Mukhamadullin to the AHL, now that he has arrived in North America. The top prospect will join the Utica Comets for practice, but general manager Tom Fitzgerald said Mukhamadullin will just watch for the time being and only enter game action when he’s comfortable enough. The Comets kick off their series against the Rochester Americans tomorrow night.

Devils Notes: Top Draft Pick, Bratt, Zacha, Goaltending

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Devils GM Tom Fitzgerald met with reporters (video link) earlier this week and indicated that he’s open to moving their first-round pick in an effort to expedite their return to the playoffs:

I said this two drafts ago, when we had the three first-round picks, I’m open to whatever can help our team improve. If that is using a pick like that, wherever it may be, to help bring in a player that we know, and feel, will help impact the results that we are looking for, absolutely.

It has been a tough run as of late in New Jersey with the team missing the playoffs for four straight years and not recording a victory in a postseason series in the last ten seasons.  Along the way, they’ve had a pair of number one draft picks in Nico Hischier and Jack Hughes while adding Dougie Hamilton in free agency last summer.  If they truly are open to dealing away their top pick (where it falls will be known on Tuesday with the draft lottery), they should be able to land another significant addition. Sportsnet’s Jeff Marek suggests that one possibility could be Minnesota’s Kevin Fiala, who the Devils have previously expressed interest in.

More from Fitzgerald’s comments:

  • Winger Jesper Bratt highlights their list of restricted free agents and Fitzgerald indicated their intention is to work out a long-term deal with the 23-year-old. Bratt is coming off a career season where he led the Devils in scoring with 26 goals and 47 assists in 78 games, making his $2.75MM cap hit quite a bargain.  He’s owed a $3.3MM qualifying offer (120% of the AAV is lower than his $3.45MM salary this season) but also has arbitration rights.  Whether it’s a long-term contract or one awarded by an arbitrator, Bratt will be getting a significant raise for next season.
  • Another RFA of note is Pavel Zacha. The forward had a career-best 36 points in 70 games this season and is a year away from UFA eligibility.  Fitzgerald suggested that he wants “to see where some of the ducks fall on how we want to build out this team” before deciding on whether or not Zacha still fits in their plans.  The 25-year-old is subject to the old qualifying offer rules and will need to be tendered a $3MM offer to match his salary from last season to retain his rights.  If New Jersey decides to move on, Zacha could be one to watch for on the trade front in the coming weeks.
  • Fitzgerald confirmed the desire to add another NHL-quality goaltender to the ranks. Mackenzie Blackwood is currently slated as their starter and Jonathan Bernier may or may not be ready for the start of next season as he works his way back from hip surgery.  While carrying three NHL-caliber netminders isn’t something that’s appealing for most teams, New Jersey’s situation is one where going that way certainly makes a lot of sense.

Devils Willing To Shop 2022 First-Round Pick

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  • New Jersey Devils general manager Tom Fitzgerald today left the door open on trading the team’s 2022 first-round draft choice, specifically to upgrade the team’s goaltending situation. The Devils were a much better team than their record indicated this season, largely because of injuries in the crease to both Mackenzie Blackwood and Jonathan Bernier. With Bernier’s playing future uncertain and Blackwood not emerging as a true no. 1 goalie just yet, the team will look to add an established body to the crease to help propel them toward a playoff spot. A weak free-agent market leaves the Devils with few choices there, so a trade is the most likely option for the Devils to be able to upgrade.

Shakir Mukhamadullin Expected To Join Utica Comets

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The New Jersey Devils are expecting Shakir Mukhamadullin to be arriving in North America soon, after the top prospect recently received his visa. General manager Tom Fitzgerald told the media today, including team reporter Amanda Stein, that the defenseman will likely join the Utica Comets, where he would be eligible to play in the postseason.

Selected 20th overall in 2020, the 6’3″ Mukhamadullin has now played three full season in the KHL, after the Devils loaned him back to Ufa Salavat Yulayev this year. Signed to his entry-level contract in December, it will slide forward and keep him wrapped up through 2024-25 even if he does get into some game action with Utica this spring. The Comets are still waiting to find out who (and when) they will play, after securing a bye following their win of the North Division crown.

New Jersey Devils Part Ways With Alain Nasreddine, Mark Recchi

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The New Jersey Devils have made significant changes to their coaching staff, parting ways with assistants Alain Nasreddine and Mark Recchi. In the release, the team indicates that it is a mutual agreement with Nasreddine to not return as his contract was expiring, while Recchi has been relieved of his duties.

Nasreddine, many will remember, also served as interim head coach of the Devils in 2019-20, going 19-16-8 as the bench boss. The 46-year-old coach had been with the team since 2015, when he came over from the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins along with John Hynes. Interestingly enough, despite being close to the bottom of the league in goals against, the Devils’ penalty-killing–designed and coached by Nasreddine–was actually in the top half of the league.

He’ll now have to look elsewhere, though it seems unlikely that another head coaching opportunity would present itself at the NHL level. More likely is Nasreddine will either join another bench as an assistant or perhaps go back to the AHL, where he could potentially get a chance to build a staff as the head coach. Just 46, he could easily find himself back on the path to the top soon.

Recchi meanwhile is an interesting case. A legendary player, his coaching career has been very inconsistent. The powerplay that he was responsible for was among the worst in the league, clicking at just a 15.63 percent rate this season, better than just the Philadelphia Flyers, Montreal Canadiens, and Arizona Coyotes. His time with the Pittsburgh Penguins previously also had some question marks, and it’s unclear where he’ll head next.

The announcement suggests that head coach Lindy Ruff will be retained, something that wasn’t entirely clear when the season ended. If that proves true, he’ll be able to hand pick a new staff to try and take the Devils to the next level and compete for the playoffs next year.

Devils Notes: Hamilton, Hughes, Wood, Bernier, World Championships

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After another disappointing season, the New Jersey Devils began their wrap-up today with the first half of the team speaking to the media for exit interviews. The Devils’ Amanda Stein had a chance to speak to many members of the Devils to gather injury updates and plans for the summer. One somewhat surprising note was the lingering injury issues that defenseman Dougie Hamilton had been dealing with in the second half of the season. Hamilton had initially been injured when he took a puck to the face in a January 2nd game against the Washington Capitals, causing him to require surgery and miss nearly two months. The defenseman was able to return on February 24th and finish out the regular season, but was clearly not the same player he was before the injury.

According to Stein, Hamilton said that he had never really felt quite the same after returning from the injury, which could have contributed to his dip in play (link). He also mentioned to the Devils’ Sam Kasan that he had actually broken his toe in the game prior to his jaw injury, perhaps also contributing to his second-half slump (link). As Stein cautions, the broken toe was only “one of” Hamilton’s other ailments in addition to his jaw, not the only other ailment (link). In 30 games prior to the injury, Hamilton had seven goals and 13 assists, which fell to just two goals and eight assists in 32 games after his return to the lineup.

  • From one Devils cornerstone to another, Jack Hughes indicated to Stein that his recovery from his latest injury has been going really well, although he has not been back on the ice yet (link). Hughes suffered a season-ending knee injury after a hit from Oliver Wahlstrom on April 3rd when the Devils took on the New York Islanders, his second major injury of the year, after a shoulder injury caused him to miss a roughly six weeks in October and November. Despite the time missed, the Devil’s young star turned in an exceptional breakout season, putting up 26 goals and 30 assists in 49 games. Keeping the 2019 first-overall pick healthy will be a critical factor in New Jersey taking the next step in their build.
  • Continuing on injuries, an unfortunate key story of the Devils’ 2021-22 season, Miles Wood shared with Stein that he was shut down after just three games this season after the hip injury that had kept him out until March 27th, wasn’t recovering as fast as he had expected after each game (link). With the Devils out of the playoff race in early April, it seemed to make more sense for the Devils to shut the veteran winger down and allow him to completely work through his injury and be able to start fresh for 2022-23. Speaking of next season, Wood is set to become an RFA this summer after the expiration of his four-year, $11MM contract and though the Devils have control of him, where Wood plays next season, and what his next contract looks like, could be a particularly interesting storyline to follow this offseason.
  • The final injury update from today’s Devils interviews came from goaltender Jonathan Bernier, who had season-ending hip surgery on January 3rd. Bernier told Stein that he is hoping to be ready for the start of training camp in September, however he is not happy with where he currently is in terms of his recovery and rehab (link). On a positive note, Bernier did mention he had resumed skating last week, albeit without equipment. Hip surgery is always concerning for a goaltender, but from the Devils perspective, the organization now has a full offseason to address their goaltending situation, including Bernier’s rehab. Regardless of the goaltender’s recovery or New Jersey’s moves this offseason, Bernier still has another year at $4.125MM with the Devils next season.
  • Looking to some positive news for New Jersey this spring, several players confirmed to Stein that they plan to represent their countries at the upcoming World Championships. Forward and team captain Nico Hischier (link) and defenseman Jonas Siegenthaler (link) both plan to represent Switzerland in the tournament, with forward Tomas Tatar (link) representing Slovakia, and defenseman Damon Severson (link) representing Canada.

NHL Announces 2022 Draft Lottery Odds

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With the conclusion of the 2022 regular season coming this afternoon after the Winnipeg Jets defeated the Seattle Kraken 4-3 in regulation, the entire league standings are finally settled, and so are the odds for the 2022 NHL Draft Lottery, which will take place on Tuesday, May 10th, at 6:30 pm ET. The odds, which increase in reverse order of the NHL standings, are as follows (link):

Montreal Canadiens – 18.5%
Arizona Coyotes – 13.5%
Seattle Kraken – 11.5%
Philadelphia Flyers – 9.5%
New Jersey Devils – 8.5%
Chicago Blackhawks* – 7.5%
Ottawa Senators – 6.5%
Detroit Red Wings – 6.0%
Buffalo Sabres – 5.0%
Anaheim Ducks – 3.5%
San Jose Sharks – 3.0%
Columbus Blue Jackets – 2.5%
New York Islanders – 2.0%
Winnipeg Jets – 1.5%
Vancouver Canucks – 0.5%
Vegas Golden Knights** – 0.5%

* As a result of the Seth Jones trade on July 23, 2021, Chicago will transfer their 2022 first-round pick to Columbus, unless it is a top-two pick, at which point they will transfer their 2023 first-round pick instead.

** As a result of the Jack Eichel trade on November 4, 2021, Vegas will transfer its 2022 first-round pick to Buffalo, unless it is a top-ten pick, at which point they will transfer their 2023 first-round pick instead.

As a reminder, the NHL announced changes to the rules for the operation of the draft lottery on March 23, 2021, which in effect limits the amount of spots certain teams may move up. Teams are not eligible to move up more than 10 spots in the lottery; so, only the eleven teams with the highest odds can receive the first-overall pick. For example, the San Jose Sharks have the potential to receive the first overall selection, however the Columbus Blue Jackets, who have the next-highest odds, cannot select any higher than second overall. In previous years, any team in the lottery was eligible to move up to the first, second, or third position.

Another change to the lottery this year will be that only two teams will be chosen in the lottery, unlike previous years when three were selected. Then, like previous years, the remaining teams will be awarded their selection in reverse order of the NHL standings. This change means that a team with the highest odds, this year Montreal, will be guaranteed a top-three selection, whereas they could drop to as low as fourth in previous lotteries.

Although the odds drop off steeply as the list goes on, the lottery is still worth paying attention to for fans of the lower teams. Sure, Montreal is much more likely to win one of the two lotteries than the Islanders or Jets, however previous teams with poor odds have prevailed, most notably including the 2017 Flyers and 2020 Rangers.

Andreas Johnsson Out Thursday With A Non-COVID Illness

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  • The New Jersey Devils also announced that forward Andreas Johnsson would miss tonight’s game against the Carolina Hurricanes with a non-COVID illness (link). It’s unclear what illness Johnsson has come down with, but for tonight at least, the Devils will have to proceed without him. New Jersey has just one game after tonight, coming tomorrow night against the Detroit Red Wings. Johnsson has enjoyed a solid season thus far, tallying 13 goals and 22 assists over 71 games and will hope to build on it next year, his final with the Devils before becoming a UFA next offseason.

New Jersey Devils Recall Reilly Walsh

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The New Jersey Devils could have another player make his NHL debut in the coming days, as prospect Reilly Walsh has been recalled from the Utica Comets. The young defenseman has joined the team in Ottawa and is available for tonight’s game.

It wasn’t always even clear if the Devils would be able to sign Walsh at all before he reached unrestricted free agency but in 2020 when it became clear that Harvard may not even play the 2020-21 season, the college standout signed his entry-level deal. That brought him into the Devils system after three outstanding years in the NCAA, and Walsh picked up right where he left off.

In 33 games last season he registered five goals and 15 points, numbers that are now dwarfed by his production this year. Walsh has 42 points in 69 games with Utica in 2021-22, good for fifth among all AHL defensemen. The right-shooting puck-mover will now likely get a chance to dip his toes into the NHL waters before competing for a full-time role with the team next season.

Remember, the Devils have P.K. Subban coming off the books at the end of the season and will need someone to replace him. While Walsh likely isn’t the top candidate, a good showing in the last few games could certainly move him a spot or two up the depth chart. During his time in college he was seen as almost a can’t-miss prospect, and his performance at the AHL shouldn’t really dull that shine.

Notably, he also is still signed to his entry-level deal for next season, meaning these games pose no risk of affecting summer negotiations. He’ll also still be waiver-exempt next season, meaning he can pop up and down when needed. While there is no playoff chase for the Devils, they’ve at least made the last few games more interesting.

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