Today is the first significant event of the Buffalo Sabres 2021 offseason. The 2021 NHL Draft Lottery is set to be held tonight at 6 pm EST. The Sabres are looking to put their disastrous season behind them and focus on the future. And if they can secure the number one overall pick tonight, that will build some good momentum going into the offseason.
Since Buffalo finished the season with the least amount of points, it is impossible for them to pick any lower than third in this year’s NHL Draft. They currently have the best odds at securing the first overall pick with a 16.6% chance. They have a 15.0% chance at the second overall pick and a 68.4% shot at the third overall.
The Sabres are looking to secure the number one overall pick for the first time since 2018. They used that pick to select Rasmus Dahlin. If Buffalo is able to win the draft lottery this year, it will only be the fourth time in franchise history that they have gotten the number one overall draft pick.
Buffalo should be entering the draft with the strategy of drafting whoever is the best available player at their pick. Obviously, this is the easiest when you have the first pick, as they could pick whoever they have at the top of their draft board.
There are 16 teams that have a shot at getting the number one overall pick. Those odds are listed below.
Sabres- 16.6%
Ducks- 12.1%
Kraken- 10.3%
Devils- 10.3%
Blue Jackets- 8.5%
Red Wings- 7.6%
Sharks- 6.7%
Kings- 5.8%
Canucks- 5.4%
Senators- 4.5%
Coyotes- 3.1%
Blackhawks- 2.7%
Flames- 2.2%
Flyers- 1.8%
Stars- 1.4%
Rangers- 1.0%
Date: Wednesday, June 2, 2021
Time: 6 pm EST
TV Channel (USA): NBCSN, NHL Network
TV Channel (Canada): Sportsnet, TVA Sports
Streaming: NBCSports & fuboTV