UPDATE: Edmonton won the lottery, so all top-14 draft positions remain as they finished the season. Since that was pretty well anticlimactic (as is to be expected), consider this the on-going lottery/draft thread for the day. Continue debating the youth-in-Asia in comments.
A decade ago, the New York Islanders had the 5th seed in the NHL Draft Lottery and won, vaulting up to the 1st overall pick. Mike Milbury used that pick on a player who probably would have been there at #5 anyway.
Last year, with sittin'-pretty duties in Ken Morrow's capable hands, the Islanders "won" the lottery and retained the first pick that a 61-point season had so rightfully earned them. Twenty-four goals and 54 points later, John Tavares is heading into his first NHL summer with a plan to come back as a beast on skates.
Tonight, Morrow returns to the scene to bring us back more teenage booty. Help us Ken, you're our only hope. Bring back Taylor Hall in your trunk or you're fired.
The pomp and circumstance is televised at 8 p.m. on TSN, Versus and streamed on nhl.com. For about five riveting seconds, our franchise future will hang in the balance. Then everything will return to normal and we'll resume fighting over the merits of teenage defenseman and unlikely trades.
If you have only seen the lottery odds 731 times, I republish them and their cause after the jump. Otherwise, this is our open Draft Lottery comment thread. Pour your drinks, rub your rabbit's foot, shake a tail feather -- do what you need to do.
Edmonton (courtesy Kevin Lowe, Steve Tambellini) - 25.0%
Boston (courtesy Brian Burke) - 18.8%
Florida (courtesy Mike Keenan and Jacques Martin) - 14.2%
Columbus (courtesy unrealistic expectations) - 10.7%
GREATEST FRANCHISE IN THE WHOLE WORLD (courtesy a series of unfortunate events) - 8.1%
Tampa Bay (courtesy a really bad ex-NHLer and the "Saw" guy) - 6.2%
Carolina (courtesy injuries and Rod Brind'Amour's decline) - 4.7%
Atlanta (courtesy Atlanta Spirit and the spirited Don Waddell) - 3.6%
Minnesota (courtesy Doug Risebrough's treatment of draft picks) - 2.7%
NY Rangers (courtesy all that is unholy) - 2.1%
Dallas (courtesy Brett Hull) - 1.5%
Anaheim (courtesy Brian Burke planning his own exit) - 1.1%
Phoenix (courtesy Darryl Sutter) - 0.8%
St. Louis (don't ask) - 0.5%