The Penguins now have a 1-in-8 shot at winning the No. 1 overall pick and earning the right to draft forward Alexis Lafreniere after being eliminated from the play-in round on Friday with a 2-0 loss to Montreal.
The Penguins and the other seven teams eliminated from the play-in round will take part in the second phase of the draft lottery on Monday at 6 p.m. with each team having an equal shot at the top pick.
The other four teams eliminated from the play-in round so far are the Rangers, Predators, Panthers, and Jets.
The Penguins initially traded their 2020 first-round pick to Minnesota as part of the Jason Zucker trade, but the pick was lottery protected. The Penguins now have the right to decide whether to send their 2020 first-round pick or 2021 first-round pick to Minnesota, and they do not have to make that decision until after the lottery, regardless of the outcome of the lottery.
The drawing on Monday is only for the No. 1 pick. Picks No. 2 through 8 were decided in the first phase of the lottery, and will go to the Kings, Senators, Red Wings, Senators, Ducks, Devils, and Sabres, in that order.
After the team is chosen for the No. 1 pick, the remaining seven eliminated play-in losers will be seeded No. 9 through 15 based on the inverse order of their regular season points percentage. Given that the Penguins have the highest points percentage of any of the teams that could be eliminated from the play-in round, if they don't win the No. 1 pick, they would be guaranteed to have the No. 15 overall pick.
Lafreniere is friends with the Penguins' top two forward prospects, Samuel Poulin and Nathan Legare, and has been spending time with Legare this summer:
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