NHL Draft Lottery

The Instigator Podcast 13.33 – Isles Win NHL Draft Lotto, Sabres to Pick 9

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A pair of teams leapt up the draft order after the 2025 NHL Draft Lottery. The New York Islanders will be picking first overall while the Utah Hockey Club moved from 14th to fourth, locking in the San Jose Sharks at second overall (:20). The Sabres were bumped to ninth overall after two teams from behind them moved up. We walk through the lottery results and offer a few thoughts on the direction we’d go if we were in the GM chair with the Islanders (6:58). Then we tackle the Sabres options at ninth overall (15:53) The 2025 class isn’t exceptional after the first few picks, meaning there are a number of directions the Sabres could go with their selection (23:10). We touch on a few as we look ahead to next month’s draft and the rest of the offseason.

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The Instigator Podcast 11.34 – Blackhawks Win the Lottery, Sabres to Pick 13

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Now that the draft lottery has been drawn, we discuss the Chicago Blackhawks winning the right to pick first and the reaction to their lottery win. We also take a look at the Sabres staying put at pick 13 and determine what options the Sabres will have at this year’s draft.

The Instigator Podcast 10.36 – Sabres Hold 9th and 16th Picks after NHL Draft Lottery

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The Sabres didn’t see their picks move in the NHL Draft Lottery and they will draft ninth and 16th in this year’s draft. The only first round pick to be determined is that of the Florida Panthers, which will fall between 28th and 32nd depending on their finish. On this week’s show we talk about the lottery results and who the Sabres could be looking at with their top two picks. We also talk about Barry Trotz’ departure from the New York Islanders and run through some of the key talking points from the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

The Instigator Podcast 9.25 – Draft Lottery Rewind

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We’re back from a brief break to offer up analysis of the Sabres nabbing the top pick in the 2021 NHL Draft and the prospect who Kevyn Adams may be looking at with the first selection. We also discuss the second round of the NHL Playoffs and enjoy a bit of comic relief thanks to our friends up the QEW. All that and more on this week’s episode.

The Instigator Podcast 9.15 – Tim Peel, Lotteries and Don Granato

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There was a whole lot to talk about this week as Don Granato and Matt Ellis each entered COVID protocol prior to Thursday’s game against Pittsburgh and that came on the heels of Tim Peel’s hot mic extravaganza earlier in the week. We touch on both stories, the utter insanity that is this Sabres’ season and the changes made to the NHL Draft Lottery.

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Ranking the Potential NHL Lottery Winners

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The NHL’s second draft lottery drops tonight with the eight eliminated Stanley Cup Qualifier teams holding equal 12.5% odds to land the first overall selection.

Maybe it was just me, but the minute the league announced that they’d be using placeholder spots for teams in the qualifying round, I knew one would wind up winning a top three pick. That feeling of inevitability wasn’t due to suspicion of foul play or some sort of fixed lottery but simply from knowing this league has perfected over complicating practically everything.

In and of itself, awarding lottery odds to eliminated teams wasn’t a poor choice. Given the gift on hindsight, the league probably would’ve been smarter to do a single drawing with the original odds once the qualifying round was done. Splitting the lottery was an odd choice which really only opened the door for complaints from fanbases (and probably some GMs) around the league. It will only become more unpopular if one of the stronger teams in tonight’s drawing wins the first pick.

The drawing itself if rife with potential controversy. You can expect a wave of negative reactions if Toronto, Pittsburgh or Edmonton win this evening. Even the Rangers, fresh off picking second last year after some lottery luck, would be a fairly unpopular result. There are also some very obvious Sabres-related pitfalls that could come out of tonight. A Leafs win would be, let’s say, inconvenient. As would a Panthers win. Really any Eastern Conference win would create challenges for the Sabres. With that in mind, let’s rank the potential lottery winners based on how it could affect the Sabres and though the additional lens of my personal preferences. Continue reading →

The Instigator Podcast 8.29 – Who Should the Sabres Pick at 8?

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The NHL Draft Lottery yielded a surprising yet utterly predictable result for the first overall pick. On this week’s episode we discuss the fallout from a placeholder team winning the top pick and Buffalo’s outlook at eighth overall. We also touch on Rick Dudley surfacing as a potential hire for Kevyn Adams’ front office and a new wrinkle in an interesting summer for the Pegulas.

 

The Instigator Podcast 8.28 – Draft Lottery and the Hockey Hall of Fame Class of 2020

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A quick episode this week highlighting the looming draft lottery, what the Sabres have in store in the top 10 of this year’s draft and a brief conversation on Alexander Mogilny missing out on the Hockey Hall of Fame yet again.

An Unusual Season Calls for an Unusual NHL Draft Lottery Twist

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There are still a lot of questions hanging in the air regarding the NHL and a potential return to complete the 2019-20 season. It feels like we’re a long way off from getting any clarity on regular season games being played or jumping right into the playoffs. Whether or not regular season games are restarted or if the league jumps right to the postseason there will be plenty of action available for ice hockey betting on NHL games.

No need for flash cards in this format.

Last week I floated a few different ways the NHL could tackle their postseason, should they be forced to take a new approach with the playoffs. Assuming the league expands the playoff format, there would only be a handful of teams left in the dark on clawing back some of their lost revenue. So what if the NHL took a different approach with those teams in awarding spots in the draft lottery?

This is an unusual season which almost certainly requires the league to utilize a different playoff format. Why not do the same with the draft lottery and plug the non-playoff teams into a tournament of their own to win the top picks? Continue reading →

The Instigator Podcast 6.29 – How Swede It Is

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The Sabres finally had the lottery balls bounce their way and they’ll be selecting first in the 2018 NHL Draft, meaning they’re in pole position to take Swedish phenom Rasmus Dahlin. We discuss exactly what it means for the Sabres to add Dahlin to the roster and how his talent could free up Jason Botterill to move another defenseman in an attempt to add talent to the forward group.