Buffalo finished 22nd in the NHL with a 39-37-6 record this season
The Buffalo Sabres were hoping to be concerned with their chances of winning a first-round series in the Stanley Cup Playoffs this time of year, but instead are again looking at their odds of winning the NHL Draft Lottery. The Sabres have had the top overall selection twice in the last six years; in 2018 when they chose defenseman Rasmus Dahlin and in 2021 when they selected blueliner Owen Power.
The Sabres finished 22nd in the NHL with a 39-37-6 record, giving them a 3% chance of winning the top spot in the 2024 NHL Draft in Las Vegas in June. The San Jose Sharks have the best odds at 18.5%, the Chicago Blackhawks have a 13.5% chance, and the Anaheim Ducks have an 11.5% chance.
The prize this year is 17-year-old Boston University center Macklin Celebrini, who scored 32 goals as a freshman and won the Hobey Baker Award as the NCAA’s top player and had eight points (4 goals, 4 assists) in five games for Canada at the 2024 World Junior Championships.
Barring the lottery balls falling in the Sabres favor or the five teams (the Philadelphia Flyers, Minnesota Wild, Pittsburgh Penguins(traded to San Jose), Detroit Red Wings, or St. Louis Blues) jumping ahead of them, the Sabres will select 11th in Vegas in late June. Buffalo selected 13th in Nashville last June and chose forward Zach Benson, so it is possible that the Sabres could get another solid young player at #11.
There might be the urge for GM Kevyn Adams to trade the pick for immediate help to get the club into the playoffs, but who the Sabres hire as their new head coach might be a factor in that decision.
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