Chicago Blackhawks: We now know their interesting lottery odds

The Chicago Blackhawks have had a fair amount of success in the NHL Draft Lottery in the last 15 years. For one, they won the lottery in 2007 when they selected Patrick Kane with the first overall pick. Back then, only the first overall pick was determined by the lottery. Later, the Hawks took advantage of new rules when they won the third spot in 2019 and selected Kirby Dach.

It was the top three picks for a few years prior to this year but now the top two spots are determined by the lottery. The Blackhawks have a low percentage chance this year but any chance is a good chance. The teams that don’t win will pick in reverse order of the standings starting at pick three.

The Chicago Blackhawks are going to participate in the 2021 NHL Draft Lottery.

In 2020, the lottery was for the teams that failed to advance in the play-in series that took place in the bubble in addition to the teams that weren’t invited to the bubble. The Hawks defeated the Edmonton Oilers in the aforementioned bubble which meant they didn’t participate in the lottery. This year, they will have a 2.7 percent chance which is the 12th best in the NHL.

There are some things to think about when you go over this lottery. For one, it will be the first time that the Seattle Kraken are involved. They are the three seed and are tied with the New Jersey Devils for the third-best odds at 10.3 percent. If neither New Jersey nor Seattle wins it, Seattle would go first. The Vegas Golden Knights also had the third-best odds when they entered the league. Seattle can only hope that they have a similar amount of success.

The Buffalo Sabres have the highest chance at 16.6 percent. With the new rule of only two teams winning a spot, they can pick no lower than third. The Arizona Coyotes have to forfeit their pick due to sanctions for violating the NHL Combine Testing Policy during the 2019-20 season. If they were to win the lottery, there will be a redraw. They also had to forfeit their 2020 second-round pick.

This isn’t a deep draft, to begin with, in terms of guaranteed star power. COVID-19 also kept them from all playing the same amount of games that they normally would so it is hard to scout in those situations. That means that the Hawks are really going to have to do their homework in order to land a good player with this pick, wherever it may land.

They are either going to pick 1st, 2nd, 12th, 13th, or 14th, depending on how the lottery goes. Assuming that they are picking 12th is the best bet right now. It would be nice to see them get a good player that they can develop into someone who can help them for many years. Having a little more clarity on the lottery now makes it very exciting.