Edited out misinformationThe picks being in later years is actually a bigger issue... When you're at the top of the league the best you can do is stay even next year. Likely that 2nd is a better pick next year than it is this year.
Here's the Wiki Entry:
Selection order and draft lottery
The selection order in the NHL Entry Draft is determined by a combination of lottery, regular season standing, and playoff results. While teams are permitted to trade draft picks both during the draft and prior to it (sometimes several years prior), in all cases, the selection order of the draft picks is based on the original holder of the pick, not a team which may have acquired the pick via a trade or other means.[5][6] The order of picks discussed in this section always references the original team.
The basic order of the NHL Entry Draft is determined based on the standings of the teams in the previous season. As with the other major sports leagues, the basic draft order is intended to favour the teams with the weakest performance who presumably need the most improvement in their roster to compete with the other teams. Subject to the results of the NHL Draft Lottery (discussed below), the teams pick in the same order each round, with each team getting one pick per round. The basic order of the picks is determined as follows:[7]
The number of teams in the second and third group depends on whether the Conference finalists also won their division. The teams in each group (other than the Stanley Cup winner and runner up) are ordered within that group based on their point totals in the preceding regular season (with the lowest point total picking first). Tie-breakers are governed by the same rules used to determine ties in the regular season standings. The order of picks 1–15 may change during the first round of the draft based on the results of the NHL Draft lottery. In the subsequent rounds, the basic order based on point totals is used.[6]
- The teams that did not qualify for the playoffs the previous season (picks 1–15)
- The teams that made the playoffs in the previous season but did not win either their division in the regular season or play in the Conference Finals (picks 16–23 up to 27)
- The teams that won their divisions in the previous season but did not play in the Conference Finals (potentially picks 24–27)
- The teams that lose in Conference Finals (picks 28 and 29)
- The team that was the runner-up in the Stanley Cup Finals (pick 30)
- The team that won the Stanley Cup in the previous season (pick 31)
When teams lose their rights to a first-round draft choice, because that player was not signed to a contract and consequently re-entered the entry draft or became an unrestricted free agent, they are awarded a compensatory draft pick. This selection will be the same numerical choice as the first round draft pick who was not signed, but in the second round. For example, if a team cannot sign the seventh overall first round draft choice, it will receive the seventh pick in the second round of the next draft as compensation.
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