DENVER—The Colorado Avalanche couldn’t improve their fortune in the NHL draft lottery on Tuesday night, staying put at the No. 3 position.
The New York Islanders won the lottery and the No. 1 overall pick, followed by Tampa Bay and Colorado. The Avalanche had a 14.2 percent chance of moving into the top spot, but the odds didn’t pan out.
Colorado finished in the cellar of the Western Conference this season, costing general manager Francois Giguere his job on Monday. Team president Pierre Lacroix will oversee the Avalanche until a replacement is hired.
The team possesses a draft pick in the top 10 for the first time since relocating to Denver from Quebec in 1995.
“It’s a tremendous amount of excitement for our organization and for our fan base, to have the opportunity to select a premier player in this year’s draft,” said Craig Billington, the Avalanche’s vice president of hockey operations. “This draft is a very strong draft.”
There are two highly touted prospects in the draft in forward John Tavares and Swedish defenseman Victor Hedman. They figure to be gone by the time Colorado makes its selection.
Any plans to trade that pick?
“One thing I learned in the game of hockey is you keep your options open. It’s a smart thing to do,” Billington said. “Having said that, the opportunity for us to go in there and draft an elite hockey player is extremely appealing for our franchise. We’ll let that process unfold over the next couple of months.”
The Avalanche are hopeful the high draft pick can eventually energize a squad that finished a disappointing 32-45-5 this season.
“The fans and community, they’re used to seeing high-caliber, quality hockey players, and that’s what we’re going to end up with,” Billington said.
