Montreal Canadiens Draft Lottery Odds Officially Locked In

It came down to the penultimate day of action in the NHL, not to mention the final game in Arizona Coyotes franchise history, but we now know the exact Draft Lottery odds that will be in effect for the Montreal Canadiens.

Seeing as the Coyotes beat the Edmonton Oilers, the Canadiens are locked into the 28th overall spot in the standings. Another way of looking at it would be that the Habs finished the season as the fifth-worst team in the NHL.

This means they will have the following once the NHL Draft Lottery rolls around, usually sometime in early May.

First Overall: 8.5 percent

Second Overall: 8.6 percent

Third Overall: 0.3 percent

Fourth Overall: N/A

Fifth Overall: 24.5 percent

Sixth Overall: 44 percent

Seventh Overall: 14.2 percent.

Making Sense Of The Situation

Considering the Canadiens were awarded the first overall pick in 2022 and the fifth overall pick in 2023, adding yet another top-10 pick to the mix should serve as a great boon for the team’s long-term rebuild plans.

There’s still a chance the team could secure a top-three pick, but as it stands, Habs fans should expect their team to pick between fifth and seventh during the first round of the NHL Entry Draft.

While selecting Macklin Celebrini first overall is unlikely, the Habs should still have plenty of interesting options once they take to the podium, including several forwards who project to be high-end talent.

Players such as Ivan Demidov, Cayden Lindstrom, Cole Eiserman, Berkly Catton, Konsta Helenius, and Tij Iginla fit the bill, especially when you consider the team is in desperate need of an injection of pure offensive talent.

Iginla, in particular, has been considered one of the forwards that Kent Hughes and company have kept a very close eye on as they plan to take the next step in their rebuild.