Odds Are Not In Calgary's Favour

The NHL was waiting on the Flames and Canucks to finish up before they could release the lottery odds/percentages for the 2021 NHL Entry Draft. With the Flames 6-2 victory over the Canucks on Wednesday we all can finally see what the final percentages are for the 16 teams vying for that covered #1 overall spot.

The Buffalo Sabres own the highest chance of getting the top pick at 16.6% thanks to their miserable 2021 campaign. The newly introduced Seattle Kraken find themselves with the third best odds at 10.3% and the Flames North Division foes Vancouver (5.4%) and Ottawa (4.5%) come in with the ninth and tenth best odds.

The Flames, meanwhile, hold just a 2.2% chance of landing in that top spot in the lottery. Those are the 4th worst odds, falling behind Philadelphia, Dallas and the NY Rangers. While those odds aren't great by any stretch of the imagination, remember, it looked like Detroit was a lock for that top slot in 2020, but just like their season, the lottery turned on them and the NY Rangers landed the top pick and coveted prize Alexis Lafreniere.

Here are the NHL approved changes to the lottery for this season:

The number of lottery draws is reduced from three to two, so the last-place team can't draft lower than third overall

No team can win the draft lottery more than twice over a five-year period (starting 2022)

Clubs can move up a maximum of 10 spots, so only 11 teams can win the No. 1 pick instead of 16 (starting 2022)

The lottery will be held on June 2. The draft is scheduled for July 23-24.