Blackhawks' 2024 NHL Draft Lottery Odds Based on Current Standings

Winning the lottery is such a flukey thing in the NHL. Teams play a long 82-game season, and finishing in last place provides just an 18.5 percent chance at landing the No. 1 pick to select a generational player. While those may be the best odds in the league, bottoming out doesn't guarantee the top pick.

The NHL changed some of the draft rules in 2022. Among the changes, a team can only move up 10 spots in the draft if it wins the lottery. Therefore, only the top 11 seeded teams can select first overall.

With the schedule winding down, it's fair to say the Blackhawks are most likely to land in the second-best odds for the NHL Draft Lottery behind just the San Jose Sharks. San Jose has just 42 points with eight games remaining compared to Chicago at 49 points with seven games to play. The Anaheim Ducks (54 points with six games remaining) sit five points ahead of the Blackhawks in the standings.

Anything can happen, and there's still a world where the Blackhawks finish in last place if the Sharks win some of their final games with Chicago losing out. There's also a world in which Chicago could finish ahead of Anaheim.

Either way, the games have to play out and fans shouldn't cheer against their team just because of the lottery. The Blackhawks won the Connor  Bedard sweepstakes with the third-best odds last season. And when they drafted first overall in 2007, they didn't have the best odds then either.