Brian Compton of NHL.com has the run-down from the Draft Lottery where percentages held true- which was a good thing for the New York Islanders.
With a 48.2-percent chance of being awarded the No. 1 pick (250 number combinations were assigned to New York), the Isles won the Scotiabank/NHL Draft Lottery on Tuesday night. The Islanders, who suffered more than 500 man-games lost to injury in 2008-09, had just 61 points (26-47-9), the fewest in the League.
The first round of the 2009 NHL Entry Draft will be held on June 26 at the Bell Centre in Montreal.
Because the Islanders won the lottery, the draft order remains intact with the League's regular-season standings. The Tampa Bay Lightning (66 points) will draft second, followed by the Colorado Avalanche (69), Atlanta Thrashers (76) and Los Angeles Kings (79), respectively. All five teams had a crack at the No. 1 pick.
"It was obviously something that was very well-publicized and something people were looking forward to, but being a goalie as long as I was, there's a lot of things you can't control," Islanders General Manager Garth Snow told NHL.com. "We hoped for the best and probably didn't sweat it out, knowing that I really didn't have any control over the situation."
"It would obviously be a great opportunity," Tavares said of being drafted by the Islanders. "It's a very historic franchise. There's a great tradition there, so it would be a great honor and a special feeling. I'd be glad to be a part of the organization. Hopefully to win a Stanley Cup would be amazing."
Certainly, Tavares ((pictured, thanks Claus Andersen/Getty)) would bring the Islanders some much-needed publicity and a shot in the arm in the ticket sales department. While Snow could have come out minutes after the lottery winner was announced and proclaimed his desire for Tavares, the Isles' GM isn't ready to do that just yet.
"It's too early in the process to even comment on that," Snow said. "My responsibility to our fans and for this organization is to build a consistent contender that's going to win a Stanley Cup. We're going to do whatever it takes to bring a Stanley Cup back to Long Island. All those other pressures really don't mean a lot to me. It's about getting the best hockey players."
But there's one guy who wants Tavares badly- Toronto GM Brian Burke.
He's what we would refer to as "damn serious."
"We'll immediately attempt to move up," Burke said during a morning news conference. "We're going to talk to everyone between us and the first pick and see what the landscape is.
"We're going to see what it costs and we're going to try and move up."
Anybody on his roster, with the exception of standout rookie defenceman Luke Schenn, might go in a package that would be required to get a higher position.
"No player is untradeable," said Burke. "Wayne Gretzky got traded."
Burke has a history of draft coups, most notably the ones that landed him Chris Pronger when he managed the Hartford Whalers and maneuverings that procured the services of the Sedin twins for the Vancouver Canucks. So, teams will be ready for his spiel this time.
"I don't think we're going to sneak up on anyone," he said. "They've seen that movie."
He wouldn't necessarily need the No. 1 spot to draft Tavares, he said.
"I'm not confident every team has John Tavares as No. 1," said Burke.
Here's Pierre McGuire, wearing his NBC toque, explaining the impact he thinks Tavares will have on the National Hockey League.
((HT: NBC Sports))
And here's the 2009 NHL Draft Lottery for those of you who missed the Islanders giving Bill Daly the frozen envelope to secure the Number 1 selection...
((HT: TSN/NHL))
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