SECAUCUS, N.J. — The 2022 NHL season is now behind us, as is the Arizona Coyotes' tenure in Glendale, as they are in the midst of moving to Tempe to play in ASU's multipurpose arena for at least the next three seasons. Now, the time of the year the Coyotes and General Manager Bill Armstrong have been waiting for is here: draft season.
In his exit interview with the media at the end of this season, Armstrong admitted that the draft was the top priority of this offseason.
"I have a priority list that sits in my desk and the numbers all the way from 1-10 says the draft, the draft, the draft, the draft," Armstrong said. "So we're going to focus in on that right now. I've always said this from my first press conference, you stack one good player on the next good player on the next good player and soon enough you're going to have a good team. And we're going to try to do that through the draft."
And come Tuesday, Armstrong will learn where the Coyotes will pick in the first round as the NHL will hold its draft lottery on Tuesday at the NHL Network studios in Secaucus, New Jersey. The Coyotes have the 2nd-best chance of getting the top pick, due to finishing with the 2nd-worst record in the NHL.
Tuesday's lottery will determine the first 16 picks of the draft. It will consist of two draws, with the winners getting the first and second picks in the draft. After those two draws, the 14 teams that were not selected will get their draft spot in inverse order of points, meaning the team that ended the season with the least number of points will be given the #3 pick and the rest will follow in that order.
All of the teams who did not make the playoffs have been entered into the lottery and here are the odds for getting the #1 pick, according to the NHL:
- Montreal Canadiens: 18.5%
- Arizona Coyotes: 13.5%
- Seattle Kraken: 11.5%
- Philadelphia Flyers: 9.5%
- New Jersey Devils: 8.5%
- Chicago Blackhawks: 7.5%
- Ottawa Senators: 6.5%
- Detroit Red Wings: 6.0%
- Buffalo Sabres: 5.0%
- Anaheim Ducks: 3.5%
- San Jose Sharks: 3.0%
- Columbus Blue Jackets: 2.5%
- New York Islanders: 2.0%
- Winnipeg Jets: 1.5%
- Vancouver Canucks: 0.5%
- Vegas Golden Knights: 0.5%
There are some twists that fans will need to know going into the draft lottery.
First, there is a new rule that limits the number of selections a team in the lottery can move up by being selected in one of the two draws. The rule makes it so no team can move up more than 10 spots, so only the top 11 seeds (Montreal, Arizona, Seattle, Philadelphia, New Jersey, Chicago, Ottawa, Detroit, Buffalo, Anaheim, and San Jose) are eligible to get the #1 pick.
Also, due to a trade in July 2021, if Chicago's pick is not #1 or #2, Columbus will get Chicago's 1st-round pick. If it is one of the top 2 picks, the Blackhawks will keep their pick and Columbus will get Chicago's first-round pick next year.
And, due to a trade in November 2021, Buffalo will get Vegas' first-round pick this year if Vegas' pick is outside of the top 10. If Vegas' pick falls inside the top 10, Vegas will get to keep the pick and Buffalo will get their first-round pick next year.
Armstrong and the Coyotes have stockpiled picks over the past year. They will have a total of 10 picks in this year's draft, 7 of which are in the first two rounds.
In the first round, the Coyotes have their pick, a pick from Montreal (acquired in the Christian Dvorak trade) and a pick from the Colorado Avalanche (acquired in the Darcy Kuemper trade).
In the second round, the Coyotes have their pick, a pick from Philadelphia (acquired in the trade that brought Shayne Gostisbehere to Arizona), a pick from the Islanders (acquired in the trade that brought Andrew Ladd to Arizona) and a pick from San Jose (acquired in the Adin Hill trade).
The draft lottery will be held at 3:30 p.m. Arizona time on Tuesday and will be broadcast on ESPN.
The 2022 NHL Scouting Combine will be held May 29-June 4 in Buffalo, New York.
The 2022 NHL Draft will be held at the Bell Centre in Montreal on July 7-8.