HabsWorld.net -- 

The Montreal Canadiens will pick 5th overall in the 2005 NHL Draft (July 30th in Ottawa). The Canadiens won the right to select 5th overall after todays draft lottery. The Pittsburgh Penguins were the big winners of the day after getting the #1 overall pick, which they are expected to use to draft top prospect Sidney Crosby.

The Draft Drawing, a weighted lottery system, was used to determine the order of selection for all seven rounds of the Entry Draft. Under the weighted lottery system, the clubs that neither qualified for the Stanley Cup Playoffs in each of the 2001-02, 2002-03 and 2003-04 seasons, nor were awarded the first overall selection in each of the 2001, 2002, 2003 and 2004 Entry Drafts, had the greatest chance of receiving the first overall selection, 6.3 per cent. These clubs were the Penguins, Buffalo Sabres, Columbus Blue Jackets and New York Rangers.

First-Round Order of Selection (2003-2004 record) – #Number
of Balls
1.  Pittsburgh Penguins (58pts) #3
2.  Mighty Ducks of Anaheim
(76) #2
3.  Carolina Hurricanes (76) #2
4.  Minnesota Wild (83)
#2
5.  Montreal Canadiens 
(93) #1 "lucky" Highest selection from the 16 teams with only 1 ball
6.  Columbus Blue Jackets
(62) #3
7.  Chicago Blackhawks (59) #2
8.  Atlanta Thrashers
(78) #2
9.  Ottawa Senators (102) #1 "lucky"
10.  Vancouver Canucks
(101) #1 "lucky"
11.  Los Angeles Kings (81) #2
12.  San Jose Sharks
(104) #1 "lucky"
13.  Buffalo Sabres (85) #3
14.  Washington Capitals
(59) #1
15.  New York Islanders (91) #1
16.  New York Rangers
(69) #3 "not lucky"
17.  Phoenix Coyotes (68) #2
18.  Nashville Predators
(91) #2
19.  Detroit Red Wings (109) #1
20.  Philadelphia Flyers
(101) #1
21.  Toronto Maple Leafs (103) #1
22.  Boston Bruins
(104) #1
23.  New Jersey Devils (100) #1
24.  St. Louis Blues
(91) #1
25.  Edmonton Oilers (89) #2 "not lucky"
26.  Calgary Flames
(94) #2 "not lucky"
27.  Colorado Avalanche (100) #1
28.  Dallas Stars
(97) #1
29.  Florida Panthers (75) #1 "not lucky"
30.  Tampa Bay Lightning
(106) #1