Buffalo Sabres Have Slim Chance At #1 Overall NHL Pick

Tonight the NHL will hold their annual draft lottery and the Buffalo Sabres have an outside chance at landing the #1 overall pick for the 2022 NHL draft.

The NHL draft lottery is open to all teams that did not qualify for the 2022 Stanley Cup Playoffs or the teams that have acquired the first-round drafting positions of those non-playoff teams.

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The first 16 picks of the NHL Draft Lottery will determine by the lottery tonight. According to NHL.com, the Buffalo Sabres have a 5% chance of landing the #1 overall pick in this year's draft.

Here are all the odds of landing the #1 overall pick heading into tonight's lottery.

Montreal Canadiens 18.5%
Arizona Coyotes 13.5%
Seattle Kraken 11.5%
Philadelphia Flyers 9.5%
New Jersey Devils 8.5%
Chicago Blackhawks  7.5%
Ottawa Senators 6.5%
Detroit Red Wings 6.0%
Buffalo Sabres 5.0%
Anaheim Ducks 3.5%
San Jose Sharks 3.0%
Columbus Blue Jackets 2.5%
New York Islanders 2.0%
Winnipeg Jets 1.5%
Vancouver Canucks 0.5%
Vegas Golden Knights 0.5%

The Buffalo Sabres could have two first-round draft picks this year depending on where the Vegas Golden Knight land in the lottery. The Sabres acquired Vegas' first-round pick unless that pick lands in the top 10. If that happens, the Sabres would get Vegas' 1st round pick in 2023.

The Sabres have had the #1 overall pick four times since 1970 and their picks were Gilbert Perreault in 1970, Pierre Turgeon in 1987, Rasmus Dahlin in 2018, and Owen Power in 2021.

It will be a couple of months before we find out who will be the next Buffalo Sabre since the NHL draft is set for July 7th.