After the season finale against the Dallas Stars at Bridgestone Arena on April 16, the Nashville Predators' long, frustrating season will finally conclude — and for the second time in three seasons, they will not move on to the Stanley Cup playoffs.
Instead, Nashville (29-44-8, 66 points) will be in seventh place in the Central Division, its worst finish since the league expanded divisions in 2013. And it ends with less than 70 points in an 82-game season for the first time since 2002.
This does mean, however, that the Predators can look forward to the draft lottery, where they have the third-best odds (11.5%) of getting the No. 1 overall pick in the 2025 NHL Draft, according to Money Puck.
The date of the NHL's lottery draft draw, which last year occurred in early May, has not been set. The 2025 NHL Draft is June 27-28.
How does the NHL's draft lottery work?
The NHL has a lottery system to determine the draft order of the bottom 16 teams. The league introduced the lottery in 1995 as a way to prevent teams from intentionally losing games to earn the top pick.
In 2021, the league adjusted the rules so that teams can move up a maximum of 10 spots in the draft. In other words, only the bottom 11 teams have a chance at the No. 1 overall pick. If during the lottery draw, a team slotted 12 to 16 gets the top pick, it automatically goes to the team in slot No. 1.
After the draw for the No. 1 pick, there is a second draw for the No. 2 pick, following the same rules. Any remaining team in the pool can win the No. 2 pick other than teams finishing in slots 13 to 16.
Once the top two picks are determined by lottery, the remaining draft order (No. 3 through No. 16) is determined by order of finish in the season.
How high or low could the Nashville Predators pick in the NHL draft?
Because the Predators will finish at slot No. 3, they could move up or down two slots, depending on how the draw plays out. They could earn the No. 1 or 2 pick by winning either of the two lottery draws. They could drop to No. 4 or 5 if teams finishing in slots 4 to 11 win the two lottery draws.
According to Tankathon, the Predators' odds for their five possible results are as follows:
- No. 1 overall — 11.5% chance
- No. 2 overall — 11.2% chance
- No. 3 overall — 7.8% chance
- No. 4 overall — 39.7% chance
- No. 5 overall — 29.8% chance
In last year's draft lottery, the draft order went unchanged after the two draws for the first time since 2010. San Jose, which had the best odds, won the top pick. Chicago, which had the best odds to win the second pick, did just that.
If the same thing were to happen this year, the Predators would select at No. 3 overall.
No matter what happens during the lottery draw, the Predators will have a selection in the top five for the first time since 2013. That year, they selected defenseman Seth Jones at No. 4 overall.
Alex Daugherty is the Predators beat writer for The Tennessean. Contact Alex atjdaugherty@gannett.com. Follow Alex on X, the platform formerly called Twitter,@alexdaugherty1.Also check out our Predators exclusive Instagram page@tennessean_preds.
