The Pittsburgh Penguins will soon learn the fate of their 2024 first-round draft pick.

PITTSBURGH – The NHL Draft Lottery is set to decide the order of the upcoming Entry Draft, and for the second straight year, the Pittsburgh Penguins are waiting to see if the lottery balls will fall their way. The Penguins currently hold the 14^th pick in the draft but will not pick in the first round unless they win the lottery.

When the Penguins acquired defenseman Erik Karlsson, a conditional first-round pick was sent to the San Jose Sharks. The conditional top-10 protected the pick for the 2024 NHL Draft. If the Penguins landed within the first 10 picks, they could retain their first-round pick for this draft.

The likely outcome for the Penguins, however, is that they will not win this year’s lottery and will lose their pick to the Sharks. The NHL gives the Penguins a 1.5% chance of winning the lottery, and even then, they couldn’t move up to the top spot.

Thanks to some NHL lottery regulations, teams can only move up 10 spots. If the Penguins win their 1.5% chance, they will move to the fourth overall selection. That would at least give them the opportunity to keep their first-round pick this year and send the 2025 first-round pick to San Jose.

What can the Penguins look forward to at tonight’s NHL Draft Lottery? Not much, really. It’ll likely be a short night for the Penguins when they see their name called for the 14^th spot, quickly losing their first-round pick in 2024.

If that is the outcome, the only ways the Penguins can earn back a first-round pick are via trade before the draft or if the Carolina Hurricanes secure a spot in the Stanley Cup Final.

As part of the Jake Guentzel trade, the Hurricanes sent the Penguins a second-round pick, which would be elevated to a first if they finish the season at least as Eastern Conference champions.

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