Everyone knows that the teams that don’t make the playoffs get a shot at the #1 pick draft lottery. Less understood is the fact that the draft order for the playoff teams changes based on how far they get in the playoffs. The cup winner gets the 30th pick. Cup loser picks 29th. Conference finals losers pick 27th and 28th. Division leaders who didn’t get out of the first two rounds go next. Then everyone else (non-division leaders who lost in the first two rounds). Within each group, teams higher in the overall standings pick later.
The Sabres, who finished with a worse record than the Kings, won their division. So they jump over the Kings (BUF picks later, LAK moves up). One of Philly or Boston is guaranteed to go to the conference finals, so the winner jumps over the Kings (PHI/BOS picks later, LAK moves up). And now Montreal has advanced.
Which is why the Kings have moved up from 22nd to 19th. Not just in the first round, but in every round. This also means that the Kings picks are now set, with the exception of the 2nd round pick from Philly and the 5th round pick from San Jose.
The Philly pick*: if Philly advances, pick #43 becomes at best pick #57; if they get to the finals, the pick drops to #59; if they win the cup, the pick is #60.
The San Jose pick**: If San Jose loses to Chicago, pick #149 becomes pick #148; If the Sharks win the cup, the pick drops to #150.
Kings have nine picks: one in the first, two in the second, two in the third, one in each of the last four rounds.
- Kings 1st — pick
#22#19 - Flyers 2nd (Denis Gauthier trade) — pick #43*
- Kings 2nd — pick
#52#49 - Rangers 3rd (Brian Boyle trade) — pick #70
- Kings 3rd — pick
#82#79 - Kings 4th — pick
#112#109 - Sharks 5th (pick swap 2008) — pick #149**
- Kings 6th — pick
#172#169 - Kings 7th (Fredrik Modin trade; Kings keep pick due to not winning the Cup) — pick
#202#199
Kings 5th — pick #142 #139 was sent to the Avs in the Ryan Smyth trade.