Ottawa fans held their collective breath going into the 2019 Draft Lottery. The Senators finished last in the NHL, with the Colorado Avalanche holding their first-round pick.

While Colorado didn't win the first-overall selection, the Avalanche did use the Sens' pick to take promising blueliner Bowen Byram fourth overall.

With the opportunity to take highly touted winger Alexis Lafreniere first overall, hope springs eternal in the nation’s capital this season with the Senators holding two lottery picks and a combined 23 per cent chance of getting the top pick with their own and San Jose's from the Erik Karlsson trade made in 2018.

The Detroit Red Wings are all but locked in with an 18.5 per cent chance of winning the lottery.

With this year’s NHL Draft being held at the Bell Centre, the Montreal Canadiens would love nothing more than to call out Lafreniere’s name in front of their fans, but there is just a 5 per cent chance of that happening.

The Winnipeg Jets are still in the hunt for a playoff berth, but they have just a 3 per cent chance at the No. 1 pick if the season ended today.

We've seen NHL teams Fail For Nail, Stop Winnin' For MacKinnon and Lose For Hughes. The race is on for Last for Lafreniere.

Here are the lottery odds (from 2019, as the 2020 odds have not been announced) for all 15 non-playoff teams, ranked according to point percentage. The NHL Draft Lottery will be held on April 9.

Standings through games completed on Mar. 11, 2020

 

DRAFT LOTTERY ODDS

 
RK TEAM GP PTS PT% % CHANCE AT NO. 1 PICK
1 Detroit 71 39 0.275 18.5
2 Ottawa 71 62 0.437 13.5
3 Ottawa (from San Jose) 70 63 0.45 11.5
4 Los Angeles 70 64 0.457 9.5
5 Anaheim  70 67 0.479 8.5
6 New Jersey 69 68 0.493 7.5
7 Buffalo+ 69 68 0.493 6.5
8 Montreal 71 71 0.5 6
9 Chicago 70 72 0.514 5
10 New Jersey (from Arizona) 70 74 0.529 3.5
11 Minnesota 69 77 0.558 3
12 NY Rangers 70 79 0.558 2.5
13 Nashville 69 78 0.565 2
14 Florida# 69 78 0.565 1.5
15 NY Islanders 68 80 0.588 1
 

+Buffalo (28) holds the second tiebreaker (regulation and overtime wins) over New Jersey (24). Both teams have 22 regulation wins (first tiebreaker).

#Florida (30) holds first tiebreaker (regulation wins) over Nashville (28).