Lottery Overview
The 2026 NHL Draft Lottery will determine the order of selection for the first 16 picks in the first round of the 2026 Upper Deck NHL Draft. Participants are all teams that did not qualify for the 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs (or the teams that have acquired the first-round drafting positions of those non-playoff teams).
The Lottery will be conducted in two phases, the first to determine the first overall pick in the 2026 Upper Deck NHL Draft and the second to determine the second overall pick. There is a limit on the total number of selections (10) a team participating in the Draft Lottery can “move up” in the event it wins one of the Lottery Draws. Thus, only the top 11 seeds will be eligible to receive the first overall Draft pick.
The allocation of odds for the first Draft Lottery Draw of the 2026 NHL Draft Lottery are: Vancouver Canucks (18.5%), Chicago Blackhawks (13.5%), New York Rangers (11.5%), Calgary Flames (9.5%), Toronto Maple Leafs (conditional to BOS)* (8.5%), Seattle Kraken (7.5%), Winnipeg Jets (6.5%), Florida Panthers (6.0%), San Jose Sharks (5.0%), NASHVILLE PREDATORS (3.5%), St. Louis Blues (3.0%), New Jersey Devils (2.5%), New York Islanders (2.0%), Columbus Blue Jackets (1.5%), St. Louis Blues (from DET) (0.5%) and Washington Capitals (0.5%).