Panthers leapfrog Sabres in lottery, Leafs pick No. 8
One more loss for Buffalo with NHL draft order set
NHL draft lottery losers last year, the Florida Panthers had their number come up this year.
In the meantime, chalk up yet another loss for the Buffalo Sabres.
The Panthers bucked the odds Tuesday by jumping up a spot and earned the right to the top pick in June. Florida, which finished 29th in the league, vaulted ahead of the lastplace Sabres, who had the best odds of winning the lottery held in Toronto. The Maple Leafs will pick eighth.
“It means a lot to us. We’ve very excited,” said Travis Viola, Panthers president of hockey operations. “We’re looking to continue to build on our core talent of young players. It’s just a great opportunity.” The result marked the fourth straight year in which the last-place team failed to win the lottery. Since the system was introduced in 1995, the last-place team has earned the No. 1 pick only six times. It also marked a reversal of fortune for Florida. After finishing last a year ago, the Panthers were relegated to the No. 2 pick after Colorado won the lottery. The top two prospects are left winger Sam Bennett of the OHL’s Kingston Frontenacs, who topped the final rankings released by NHL Central Scouting last week, and Barrie Colts defenceman Aaron Ekblad. The draft will be held in Philadelphia on June 27 and 28. The Panthers (29-45-8) had an 18.8 per cent chance of winning the lottery, behind only Buffalo (21-51-10), which had a 25 per cent shot.
The Sabres continued what’s been a losing trend since the season began in October. Buffalo’s 51 losses were a franchise worst and the most in the NHL since the New York Islanders went 21-51-7-3 in 2000-01.
General manager Tim Murray took the latest loss in stride, telling the team’s website that he almost anticipated losing out on the No. 1 pick.
“We’re very comfortable,” Murray said. “The other way would’ve been gravy, but it’s kind of what we thought would happen.”