With the Florida Panthers formalizing their entry into the playoffs on Tuesday, the Montreal Canadiens will have to settle for a first-round pick outside the top 16 in the next draft.
With 28th place overall (as of Wednesday), the Habs have obviously created their chance of winning the lottery. This position gives them an 8.5% chance of speaking first and an 8.8% chance of speaking second.
For the record, the Canadian regained the Panthers’ first-round pick in the trade that sent defenseman Ben Chiarot to Florida. General manager Bill Zito’s roster took a big risk as a month ago it didn’t look like it would even make the playoffs.
The team has won six of their last seven games and thanks to Tuesday’s losses to the Pittsburgh Penguins and Buffalo Sabers they won their ticket to the Spring Ball.
Also note that if the Panthers had finished 16th overall, they only had a 1% chance of improving their lot by drawing sixth or seventh place. Only clubs that finished the season in the last 11 can think of first place.
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