Has this ever happened in the history of the NHL Draft Lottery?

[LeafsNation75]

I don't know when it became public knowledge of how the ball drawings went during the NHL Draft Lottery and I'm wondering has something like this ever happened before.

In the 2015 Draft Lottery going into the final ball drawing the numbers 5-14-6 were already selected and based on those combinations Toronto had the best odds to win the 1st overall pick and Connor McDavid. However that never happened and we know it was the Edmonton Oilers who got the 1st pick instead.



How the Maple Leafs almost got Connor McDavid - Sportsnet.ca

In the 2016 Draft Lottery it was the complete opposite because after the numbers of 6-8-5 were already selected based on those combinations the Oilers had the best chance to get the 1st overall pick and Auston Matthews. Toronto could only have won with the #13 ball and that's exactly what happened.

How the Maple Leafs won the draft lottery - TSN.ca

Consider Saturday a night of redemption. The Maple Leafs, who entered with the best odds for the No. 1 overall pick, had some of the worst odds to win the lottery after the first three balls climbed up the chute.

Six. Eight. Five.

No. 13 was the only ball left that could deliver the No. 1 pick to Toronto. It was a scant 9 per cent shot.

The Edmonton Oilers nearly pulled off Grand Theft Lotto for the fifth time. They were one of three teams, along with Winnipeg and Columbus, with two balls in the mix and the best odds.

So I'm asking is this the only time when the same teams were unlucky with the final ball not going in their favor based on the combination of the first three balls that were selected?

Click to read more...

 

[Fenway]

The lottery draw was shown online after the announcement

 

[LeafsNation75]

The lottery draw was shown online after the announcement

I already knew about that.

I was asking after the results were known has there been a situation where one team had the best odds going into the final ball drawing and didn't win, than it happened the next year with the same two teams, however the results were a complete opposite.

Toronto having the best odds during the final ball drawing in 2015 and Edmonton ending up with the 1st pick.

Edmonton having the best odds during the final ball drawing in 2016 and Toronto ending up with the 1st pick.

 

[LeafsNation75]

I forgot to mention this article from the Toronto Star which says in the final ball drawing how a #2 ball was about to be selected which would have meant Toronto getting the 1st pick, however at the last possible second a #1 ball knocked it away and that's how the Oilers got McDavid and the 1st pick in 2015.

NHL lottery: Leafs were bounce away from McDavid | The Star

ONE: If you look closely at the video of the bouncing balls, No. 2 — a Leaf number — is right there on the cusp of getting drawn. But it’s there a fraction of a second too soon. By the time the button is pressed to vacuum up the final ball, No. 1 has pushed No. 2 out of the way.

 

[The Panther]

I should probably be more interested in this than I am. I guess I don't really care how the Oil got McDavid; I'm just glad they did. Honestly, for me the NHL was at its peak of boredom-inducing play around 2010 to 2015, and if McDavid hadn't gone to Edmonton (bearing in mind I live in the Far East), I think it's quite likely I would have given up on the NHL entirely.

For various reasons, the League has swung back to a more entertaining product in the past few years, and it's good to see. (Even if the League is too wimpy now.)

 

[LeafsNation75]

I should probably be more interested in this than I am. I guess I don't really care how the Oil got McDavid; I'm just glad they did. Honestly, for me the NHL was at its peak of boredom-inducing play around 2010 to 2015, and if McDavid hadn't gone to Edmonton (bearing in mind I live in the Far East), I think it's quite likely I would have given up on the NHL entirely.

For various reasons, the League has swung back to a more entertaining product in the past few years, and it's good to see. (Even if the League is too wimpy now.)

As a Leafs fan this interested me based on how close the Leafs were to getting the chance to draft McDavid and how close they were to not getting Auston Matthews 1 year later. Plus it would have been Toronto's luck to not get the 1st pick in 2016 and maybe the 2nd and 3rd picks, because 2016 was the first year where the top 3 selections were done via the lottery.