There are only three certainties in life: death, taxes and the Red Wings not gaining spots in the draft lottery. With that being said, the most disappointing day as a Red Wings fan is upon us. The 2022 NHL Draft Lottery is coming up on Tuesday, May 10th as some ping pong balls will decide who gets the right to draft Canadian center Shane Wright, the consensus top prospect in this year’s draft.
This year marks the second year of the new draft lottery format that saw the end of the previous format’s chaos. Only two ping pong balls will be drawn as they’ll decide who picks first and second overall respectively. A team can also only jump a maximum of ten spots if they’re drawn, meaning there won’t be any near-playoff teams picking in the top two, even if they do win.
The Red Wings come into the draft lottery with the eighth best odds at 6.0% to get the first overall pick. If the Red Wings were to win either the first or second overall pick, it would be the first time the lottery has ever helped them gain positions in the draft in team history. It would also be just the second time any Detroit franchise has gained spots in the lottery with their own pick in history (Pistons, 2021).
The teams with higher odds than the Red Wings are; the Montreal Canadiens (18.5% chance of getting the first overall pick), the Arizona Coyotes (13.5%), the Seattle Kraken (11.5%), the Philadelphia Flyers (9.5%), the New Jersey Devils (8.5%), the Chicago Blackhawks (7.5%), and the Ottawa Senators (6.5%). The Red Wings could pick could be as low as tenth overall after all is said and done.
The NHL Draft Lottery will take place at 6:30 pm on ESPN and ESPN+ in the US as well as on the Sportsnet family of networks in Canada. Make sure to come with no expectations as to not feel disappointed when the Red Wings once again don’t win a lottery.
