Panthers Look to Get Lucky in Phase 2 of NHL Draft Lottery

There's never been a consolation prize quite like this in the NHL.

With the No. 1 overall pick in the 2020 NHL Draft on the line, the Florida Panthers will be one of eight teams with a 12.5 percent chance of landing the highly coveted selection when Phase 2 of the NHL Draft Lottery gets underway on Monday night.

Getting a strong sense of déjà vu? That's understandable.

After all, this is the second lottery the league has held in just a few months. During Phase 1 of the lottery back on June 26, placeholder "Team E" leapt over the seven teams outside of the NHL's 24-team Return to Play Plan to win the draft's top spot.

So, here we are again.

Joining the Cats at the event will be the other seven teams that were eliminated from the Stanley Cup Qualifiers: the Pittsburgh Penguins, Toronto Maple Leafs, New York Rangers, Edmonton Oilers, Minnesota Wild, Winnipeg Jets and Nashville Predators.

After a winner is chosen, the losing teams will be assigned picks 9-15 based on inverse order of their points percentage at the time the regular season was paused in March.

If the Panthers (35-26-8) don't end up getting lucky in the lottery, they will end up with the 12th-overall selection in the draft. That is, however, unless one of Toronto, Edmonton or Pittsburgh wins, which would then push Florida down to the 13th spot.

Regardless of which team wins, this lottery will mark the first time in NHL history that a team without one of the worst seven records during the regular season will end up winning the top selection in the draft, per the folks over at Sportsnet Stats.

The lottery will begin at 6 p.m. ET on NHLN, NBCSN, SN and TVAS, so grab your good luck charms and get ready for what could turn into a wild, wild night, Panthers fans.

"The uniqueness of the 2020 NHL Draft Lottery is exciting for the NHL and its fans in part that it was reconfigured into a two-phase process with the initial lottery phase resulting in the No. 1 selection going to a yet to be determined club," Director of NHL Central Scouting Dan Marr told NHL.com.

"The fact that the eight clubs eliminated in the [Stanley Cup Qualifiers] all have equal odds at winning the lottery makes it truly unique, and the fans in each of those eliminated cities will be excited knowing they have a 1-in-8 chance to be awarded the No. 1 selection."

So what's the prize for winning this year's lottery? That would be Alexis Lafreniere.

NHL Central Scouting's No.1-ranked North American skater heading into the draft, Lafreniere put up mammoth numbers during the 2019-20 campaign, leading the QMJHL in scoring with 112 points (35 goals, 77 assists) in 52 games with Rimouski.

On the international stage, the 18-year-old forward, who stands 6-foot-1 and 193 pounds, was named the MVP at the 2020 World junior Championship after leading Team Canada to a gold medal with 10 points (four goals, six assists) in five games.

Lafreniere, a native of Saint-Eustache, Quebec, has also won the Canadian Hockey League Player of the Year Award each of the last two seasons, joining Pittsburgh's Sidney Crosby (2004, 2005) as the only players to win the award multiple times.

Here's how NHL Central Scouting describe the top prospect:

"Exceptionally smart player with top-end speed and pull-away gear. Great at carrying the puck and leading rushes. Executes under pressure and has great vision and anticipation - very good quickness with the puck and exceptional ability to change speed. Elite puck skills and visions to create plays in the offensive zone."

Florida has previously won the lottery in 2002, 2003 and 2014. In 2002 and 2003, the Panthers ended up trading the No. 1 overall selection. In 2014, however, they held on to to the pick to select defenseman Aaron Ekblad.

Ekblad went on to win the Calder Trophy as the NHL's top rookie in 2014-15, setting a franchise record for points by a rookie blueliner with 39 -- the third-most points in NHL history by a defenseman who remained 18 years old through at least Feb. 1.

Prior to the league introducing the lottery in 1995, the Panthers selected defenseman Ed Jovanovski -- aka "JovoCop" -- with the No. 1 pick in 1994.

The 2020 NHL Draft is tentatively schedule for October 9-10.