NHL Draft Lottery – The Magic #

As the NHL season comes to an end, fans of the teams at the bottom of the league have given up on their playoff hopes and have instead begun checking the standings on a daily basis to find out if their team has a chance to finish in the bottom 5. Of course, only teams in the bottom 5 have a shot at landing the top pick in the upcoming draft and selecting the highly coveted John Tavares.

Below are the standings for the teams currently out of the playoffs (or hovering around a playoff spot).  Based on the number of games each team has remaining, we have determined the highest point total each team can finish the season with and, mathematically, the highest they can finish in the draft lottery.  As well, if a team reaches the “magic #” in points, it is mathematically impossible for them to finish in the bottom 5 and have a shot at landing the top pick.  It is possible that teams with an “n/a” as the “magic #” fall out of the lottery, it just means that they cannot be mathematically eliminated .