Macklin Celebrini
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Canadiens: surprise statement about the Macklin Celebrini lottery

Published May 4, 2024 at 11:57
BY DAVID ST-JEAN
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The Canadiens are assured of a top 7 pick in the upcoming draft, that of Macklin Celebrini. The lottery will take place on May 7th.

For the occasion, the organization has issued a statement explaining in great depth the CH's chances. We can see that there are particularities that escaped us.

"MONTREAL – It's time to think lucky thoughts: the 2024 NHL Draft Lottery is less than a week away, and the Habs have an 8.5% chance of snagging the first-overall pick this summer.

Two successive draws will take place, and below are the odds all 16 teams hold to win the first of the two."



What's intriguing is the "two draws". Although it's been this way for years, the team wanted to clarify what this entails, and it's frankly complex, while being very unlikely.

"As mentioned, Montreal has the fifth-best odds (8.5%) of winning the opening lottery, which would award the Canadiens the first-overall pick in 2024.

If another team wins the lottery, the Habs can still get the second-overall pick in the second draw... unless Philly has already locked it up.

In this scenario, the Philadelphia Flyers, who sit 12th with 2.5% odds in the Draft Lottery rankings, would need to win the first lottery and jump the maximum-allowed 10 spots to No. 2. The vacant first-overall spot would then automatically go to the San Jose Sharks, who have the best chance of winning this year's NHL Draft sweepstakes. If the Canadiens then win the second draw, the third selection would be theirs as picks 1 and 2 would already be accounted for.

It's highly improbable (and confusing), but there's still a chance (0.3%, to be precise).

The odds will be reset for each team heading into both draws." - Montreal Canadiens

Despite the complexity of it all, the Canadiens remain with a 7th pick as the worst-case scenario and an 8.5% chance of selecting Macklin Celebrini. That's what you need to take away from all of this.

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Canadiens: surprise statement about the Macklin Celebrini lottery

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