Kings Win the Lottery, Move Up to No. 3 Pick

Even when the Kings win the lottery, the jackpot belongs to somebody else.

The Ottawa Senators kept the No. 1 pick in the July 8 draft when the longshot Kings won the first NHL lottery Sunday, but moved up only to third because teams are allowed to jump no more than four spots under the weighted system.

All 10 non-playoff teams competed in the lottery, but only the teams with the five-worst records had a shot at No. 1.

It seems a fitting outcome for a financially troubled team whose prospective sale is complicated by minority-owner Bruce McNall’s bankruptcy proceedings. Still, the Kings were scheduled to pick seventh, and General Manager Sam McMaster was delighted to move to third, coincidentally knocking the Mighty Ducks down one position to fourth.

“Maybe things are finally looking up for the Los Angeles Kings,” McMaster said.

The Kings had only a 4.2% chance of moving up to the third pick and their representative at the drawing in New York was a man the other hockey executives didn’t even know--Lester Wintz, the team’s executive vice president, who was in New York on other business.

“We never expected this to happen, so he just went on protocol to have someone there to congratulate the winner,” McMaster said.

Unless the Kings trade the pick, they will make their highest selection since 1986, when Jimmy Carson was second overall. There isn’t a consensus No. 1, but defensemen Bryan Berard of the Detroit Jr. Red Wings and Wade Redden of the Brandon Wheat Kings, a Canadian junior team, are rated high, along with Finnish defenseman Aki-Petteri Berg. McMaster said the Kings are more likely to pick a forward such as Canadian junior players Daymond Langkow and Chad Kilger or Czech center Radek Dvorak.

Duck General Manager Jack Ferreira said dropping one position shouldn’t make too much difference. “In our eyes there is a group of players pretty well grouped together,” he said.

NHL Notes

The Kings probably won’t hire a coach before the draft, General Manager Sam McMaster said, suggesting final interviews might be at the draft in Edmonton. McMaster plans to compile a list of about 10 candidates. Asked about recently fired Calgary Coach Dave King, McMaster said he has not contacted him but called him “an outstanding possibility.”

The New York Islanders will pick second in the draft. Tampa Bay is fifth, followed by Edmonton, Winnipeg, Montreal, Boston (from Hartford) and Florida.