It’s the closest thing to a Red Wings hockey game that we’ve gotten since March... I mean, if you don’t count the replays of classic games we’ve been watching since the season shut down. I mean, those old games are fun, but not knowing the outcome is one of the draws of games going forward (even if most nights, the outcome feels inevitable).

Here’s the quick rundown:

When: Tonight, June 26th at 8pm ET

Where: Secaucus, NJ (NHL Network Studio)

TV: NBCSN, NHLN, TVA, SN

Format:

Fifteen teams will be eligible in Phase 1 of the 2020 NHL Draft Lottery (which will be held June 26): the seven teams that already have not qualified for the 2020 Stanley Cup Playoffs – ranked in inverse order of their points percentages at the time of the pause in the regular season – and eight “placeholders” that represent the to-be-determined Qualifying Round teams that do not advance, thus maintaining previously established odds for the Draft Lottery.

In previous years, the presentation on the lottery show would have Bill Daly revealing picks from 15 down to 1 where we would know which team won a top three pick by that team missing from its expected slot. However, with teams 8-15 being placeholders for teams that are getting ready to play ersatz playoff games, the format will be slightly different:

If none of the 8 alpha-designated unknown teams (those which lose the 2020 play-in qualifier) win a top-three overall pick, Bill Daly’s countdown/flipping of cards will start at No. 7.

If one of the 8 unknown teams gets a top-three pick, the countdown/flip starts at 8.

— Bob McKenzie (@TSNBobMcKenzie) June 25, 2020

If 2 of 8 unknown teams win a top-three pick in the draw, countdown/flipping starts at No. 9.

If 3 of 8 unknown teams win all three top picks, well, there won’t be much of a countdown. New top three would be unknown until a second draft lottery after the play-in qualifier.

— Bob McKenzie (@TSNBobMcKenzie) June 25, 2020

There’s a real possibility that when this is said and done, Bill Daly will have to sit in front of international broadcast cameras and tell everybody that Buffalo is picking 10th overall and then pretend like the rest of the information we’ll get tonight is actually interesting (since this would mean all three top picks were won by placeholders and so we won’t know who has those until Phase 2 is decided after the play-in round).

If we do see Daly start us out with Buffalo at #7, all that will really mean is that there’s still bettter than a 50% chance that one of the other five teams in the lottery won the top pick over Detroit.

It’s a bingo ball live thread. Let’s have fun!