The 2024 NHL Draft Lottery, which shapes the order of selection for the first 16 picks of the 2024 NHL Draft, will take place tonight at 6:30 PM ET at the NHL Network studio. Viewers can watch the event live on ESPN, Sportsnet and TVA Sports.
For the Penguins, the lottery can play out in two ways this evening. Both scenarios are the result of Pittsburgh's three-team trade with San Jose and Montreal to acquire Erik Karlsson on Aug. 6, 2023. The trade sent Pittsburgh's 2024 first-round draft pick to the Sharks, which is top-10 protected for this year’s draft.
First Potential Outcome: Pittsburgh has a 1.5% chance to win the draft lottery shift, and its current pick (14th overall) will move into the top 10 and become the fourth overall pick. If the Penguins secure the fourth overall pick, they will have the option to keep it and instead give San Jose their 2025 first-round pick.
Second Potential Outcome: If the Penguins do not win the draft lottery (there is a 98.5% chance of this scenario), the Sharks will automatically have Pittsburgh's 2024 first-round draft pick.
Please note: Pittsburgh has a second-round pick (44th overall) it acquired from the Carolina Hurricanes on March 7 that was packaged with Michael Bunting, Vasili Ponomarev, Cruz Lucius and Ville Koivunen and a fifth-round pick in the 2024 NHL draft in exchange for Jake Guentzel and Ty Smith. If the Hurricanes were to advance to the Stanley Cup Final, their second-round pick would become a first-round pick belonging to the Penguins.
