No. 1 pick to be determined by second draft lottery

The 2020 NHL Draft picture became clearer. Slightly.

But at the same time, the theme of uncertainty continued on.

The No. 1 pick in the 2020 NHL Draft will be determined by the Second Phase of the NHL Draft Lottery following the results of the First Phase on Friday.

Alexis Lafreniere, No. 1 in FCHockey’s Final ranking, is the consensus top pick for the 2020 draft and is expected to be selected first overall.

The No. 1 pick will be awarded to one of 16 teams competing in the play-in round for a chance at the NHL playoffs. The eight teams that lose the play-in will have an equal chance to win the first overall pick. That gives each of these eight teams a 12.5 precent chance at winning, decided by the Second Phase of the NHL Draft Lottery.

The dates have yet to be set for that phase of the lottery.

The Los Angeles Kings hold the No. 2 pick after jumping from the No. 4 spot. The Ottawa Senators maintained one of their top-three selections and will select No. 3 via the pick acquired from the San Jose Sharks in the Erik Karlsson trade. The Senators also fell back to No. 5 via their own selection.

The Detroit Red Wings, who had the best odds to win the No. 1 pick, fell to No. 4.

The top eight is rounded out by the Anaheim Ducks at No. 6, the New Jersey Devils at No. 7, and the Buffalo Sabres at No. 8.

Selections No. 9 through No. 15 will be made up of the seven teams that lose the play-in round and don’t win the No. 1 pick in the Second Phase of the Lottery. The order will be set by their regular-season points percentage.

The remaining picks, No. 16 through No. 31, will be set by the results of the Stanley Cup Playoffs.