Montreal Canadiens Now Know When They Will Learn Their Draft Lottery Fate

The Montreal Canadiens 2021-22 season may go down in the record books as the worst one in their well over 100 year history.

It has been a long year for the team and a tough grind even for the fans of the team who have stuck around this long. It isn’t all that exciting watching a seven month season when there is almost no chance for the playoffs after the first month.

Luckily, the arrival of Martin St. Louis behind the bench breathed some fresh air into the team around the midpoint of the season. Their record under him has started to trend in the wrong direction again, but at least there was some exciting hockey in the second half to keep up entertained and locked in every night.

The biggest boost from a lost season is a chance to add a franchise player in the following NHL Draft. The team’s with the worst records get the best chance at landing the first overall selection and the team’s that last the longest in the postseason end up picking last.

The Canadiens made a run to the Stanley Cup Final last season and as a result were picking 31st overall and ended up selecting Logan Mailloux.

This season, they won’t have to wait nearly as long before heading to the podium. We will soon find out exactly where the Habs pick.

The NHL announced today that the draft lottery will be held on May 10th at 6:30 PM EST. That is 20 days from now and it will sort out the seeding for the first 16 picks in the NHL Draft.

The Canadiens currently have the second worst record in the NHL. If they stay there, they will have a 13.5% chance of landing the first overall pick. A lottery is held for the first and second overall picks so it is possible the Canadiens could drop two slots at the lottery. This means finishing with the second worst record guarantees they pick in the top four.

If the Habs fall behind Arizona over the final few games of the season, they would then have an 18.5% chance of landing the top pick and also guarantee they pick no lower than 3rd overall.

The NHL Draft will be held in Montreal at the Bell Centre, with the first round taking place on July 7th and the next six rounds being held on July 8th.

The consensus top pick is Shane Wright, a smart, two-way centre with tons of skill who piled up 32 goals and 94 points in 63 games for the Kingston Frontenacs this season.

Want your voice heard? Join the A Winning Habit team!

Write for us!