The Power of Tonight’s Draft Lottery on the New York Islanders

In just a few hours, the outlook for the New York Islanders can change dramatically. With one combination of ping pong balls going the Islanders’ way, they could be on the clock with the first overall pick in the 2025 NHL Entry Draft.

Here’s a look at those exact combinations:

2025 Islanders Draft Lottery Combinations

The 2025 NHL Draft Lottery will take place tonight, May 5, at 7 p.m. You can watch it live on ESPN, where John Buccigross will host the festivities.

How Winning the Lottery Affects the President/GM Search:

Obviously, the Islanders are still deep in their search for a new President and/or General Manager to lead the franchise forward. For the last 13 days, they were the only team with an opening.

Then, the Los Angeles Kings announced they were moving on from Rob Blake this afternoon. Blake has served as the GM since 2017 and is now a free agent. Marc Bergevin, a candidate for the Islanders’ job, currently serves as an advisor in LA, and there is some thought that he is the next man up for the Kings.

The Islanders’ job remains attractive, but Los Angeles has its charms. The Islanders winning the lottery gives whoever enters the biggest sweetener in the world. The first (or second) overall pick. With it, you could select presumptive top choice Matthew Schaefer. Or, you could take the local product, already a fan-favorite, James Hagens.

There’s also the option to trade down from 1st Overall to, say, 3rd or 4th Overall. Hagens could very well be there, and you could slide down while picking up significant assets for doing so.

The possibilities are endless, and should leave any potential incoming manager salivating at the options. All of a sudden, the job is that much more valuable.

How It Could Affect the Roster:

If you win the lottery or move anywhere into the top three, you have a golden prospect. Michael Misa, Schaefer, and Hagens could all be NHL-ready on day one. If that’s the case, the Islanders have yet another roster spot to clear.

In the event of Hagens or Misa, it becomes all but assured that Jean-Gabriel Pageau will be moved. With just one year left and limited trade protections, it becomes too hard to envision an extension. Especially when you factor in the arrival of a top-end center, along with Calum Ritchie’s imminent NHL future,

Winning the lottery also gives you the free pass to spend like a drunken sailor at a crab shack for a high-end winger. Whether it’s a trade (two 1st-rounders in 2026) or via free agency (Mitch Marner, Nikolaj Ehlers), the Islanders would have a mandate to bring in a game-breaking winger.

Defensively, if you go with Schaefer, a 6’1″ speedy two-way left-shot defender, perhaps instead of splurging on an Alexander Romanov extension, you send him out for an elite winger and let veteran Adam Pelech play out his contract and help show Schaefer the NHL ropes.

Winning the lottery dramatically changes the thinking around how you think about shaping your roster immediately.

Islanders Draft Lottery History:

Historically, the lottery hasn’t been too kind to the Islanders. Yes, they retained the 1st Overall Selection in the 2009 NHL Draft after a miserable, last-place finish in the 2008-09 campaign. That pick became John Tavares.

In the years after, the Edmonton Oilers would win four of the next six draft lotteries, while the Islanders picked up top-five picks in 2010 (5th, Nino Niederreiter), 2011 (5th, Ryan Strome), 2012 (4th, Griffin Reinhart), and 2014 (5th, Michael Dal Colle).

Not once did the Islanders move in any of those years, nor did they get lucky after playoff misses in 2017, 2018, or 2022. In 2018, the Islanders held two lottery picks. The 12th overall pick, belonging to Calgary, and the 10th overall pick, belonging to themselves.

Naturally, the Carolina Hurricanes hit the jackpot, moving from right in between the Islanders at pick 11 to the second overall pick. They selected Andrei Svechnikov with that selection. In one alternate universe, the Islanders land Svechnikov while the Hurricanes are the ones who take Oliver Wahlstrom 11th, seeking a sniper.

Then, after COVID-19 wrecked the 2020 NHL Season, the last major move from outside the top five came when the New York Rangers went from a play-in team to the winners of the draft lottery and selected Alexis Lafreniere.

Last season, the lottery yielded no changes, so one would think we could be in for some drama and intrigue this year. If it is the Islanders who become the lucky ones, it will dramatically change how this summer plays out.