The NHL's recent announcement of a new draft-lottery format confused most, but Ottawa Senators general manager Pierre Dorion knows his club will end up in good shape regardless of the results.

The Senators have been given a 25% chance of winning the No. 1 pick thanks to their own odds from finishing in 30th place, and owning the San Jose Sharks' first-round pick as a part of the package that sent former Sens captain Erik Karlsson to the west coast. The Sharks finished 29th.

"We’re very happy with how the draft lottery will proceed," Dorion told TSN. "We know we’re going to get two players in the top six, in the worst-case scenario, or best-case, one and two."

The Senators also own the New York Islanders' 2020 first-rounder thanks to the deadline deal involving Jean-Gabriel Pageau. However, if the Isles earn a top-three draft choice in 2020, the pick will be deferred to 2021.

This year's draft lottery could be done in two phases, and the first will be held June 26. The seven teams outside the expanded 24-team playoff cutline will be included in the first lottery, along with eight placeholders to represent the clubs eventually knocked out after the play-in round. If one of the placeholders wins a top-three pick in the first phase, the lottery will be settled at a later date.

Ottawa finished the regular season with a 25-34-12 record, missing the playoffs for the third consecutive campaign. The franchise faces a tremendous opportunity to accelerate its rebuild in the upcoming draft while owning up to nine picks in the first three rounds.

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The seven clubs that aren't part of the 24-team expanded playoff format are now eligible to make trades with one another, according to The Athletic's Pierre LeBrun.

The eliminated teams are the Detroit Red Wings, Ottawa Senators, New Jersey Devils, Buffalo Sabres, Los Angeles Kings, San Jose Sharks, and Anaheim Ducks. NHL commissioner Gary Bettman officially declared the season is over for those squads during his announcement earlier this week.

While the situation may feel unique under current circumstances, the 15 teams that don't qualify for the playoffs during a normal campaign are permitted to make trades with each other in April, when the postseason typically begins.

Bettman also announced a multifaceted plan for the June 26 draft lottery on Tuesday, with each of the seven eliminated teams receiving the traditional odds for landing the No. 1 pick.

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Alexis Lafreniere's agent is exploring all options for the 2020-21 season, including European leagues, depending on how long the start of the NHL's next campaign is delayed, TSN's Bob McKenzie reported on "Insider Trading" Thursday.

"... Where’s Alexis Lafreniere going to play this fall if the NHL season isn’t happening until January and the draft isn’t until October or November?" McKenzie said of the presumed 2020 No. 1 pick.

"Is the CHL going to be playing? Is the American Hockey League an option? We don’t know at this point," he continued. "But one thing I can tell you - (agent) Emilie Castonguay for Alexis Lafreniere is looking at all the options on the table and that will include seeing if the European club teams are up and operating in September and October."

The NHL announced in its return-to-play plan Tuesday that the draft lottery will be held June 26, but timelines for the draft itself and next season are far from settled.

Training camps for the resumption of the current season won't begin before July 10. Even if everything goes to plan, that could mean the NHL's 24-team playoff may not start until early August, possibly preventing the next season from beginning until December or January.

The CHL and all major European leagues canceled seasons outright due to the coronavirus pandemic earlier in the spring, and those leagues haven't revealed plans for a return.

Lafreniere has been labeled as the top pick among this year's crop of prospects all season. He produced 112 points in 52 QMJHL games this campaign in addition to winning a gold medal and being named tournament MVP at the world juniors.

The Detroit Red Wings own the best lottery odds for the No. 1 pick, with an 18.5% chance of winning.

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The NHL informed its players on Thursday that organized training camps won't begin until at least July 10, according to Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman.

Training camps are part of Phase 3 of the league's return-to-play plan, which commissioner Gary Bettman outlined Tuesday in an announcement that also included the groundwork for a 24-team playoff.

Phase 2 of the league's plan, expected to commence in early June, will involve players returning to their home facilities in small groups and voluntary on- or off-ice training.

The NHL paused the campaign on March 12. It officially called an end on Tuesday to the 2019-20 regular season. The league remains adamant it won't proceed with its plans until respective civil authorities deem it safe to do so.

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Edmonton Oilers star Connor McDavid doesn't believe his club would gain a competitive advantage playing in its own building if the city is chosen as one of the NHL's hub locations.

"I would say probably not," McDavid said Thursday in an interview with Sportsnet. "It's going to feel weird in that building no matter where you play, no matter if you've played there 100 times, no matter if you've never played there.

"The building's gonna feel weird, just with no fans being in there and whatnot, so I would say probably not, but that's just my opinion."

NHL commissioner Gary Bettman announced the league's 24-team playoff format Tuesday. Teams will be split into two hub cities, with Edmonton being one of the 10 candidates under consideration.

Deputy commissioner Bill Daly said the league would prefer having a Canadian city serve as a host site, but added that the country's 14-day self-isolation order for all individuals entering the country could prevent that.

Alberta premier Jason Kenney asked Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau on Wednesday to remove coronavirus-related travel restrictions so that Edmonton can become a hub city when the NHL resumes play.

The Oilers owned a 17-11-6 record at Rogers Place this season. The club is slated to take on the Chicago Blackhawks in the best-of-five qualifying round.

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Alberta premier Jason Kenney is asking Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau to remove coronavirus-related travel restrictions so that Edmonton can become a hub city when the NHL resumes play, according to Reuters.

The NHL unveiled its 24-team return-to-play format Tuesday, which includes the use of two hub cities - one for each conference. There are 10 cities currently under consideration, including Toronto, Edmonton, and Vancouver.

However, the federal government has a 14-day isolation order for all individuals entering Canada. NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly said Wednesday that the league would like to have a Canadian hub city, but this rule may prevent it.

"If we're not able to resolve that issue or solve that issue, I think it effectively eliminates our ability to come to a Canadian city as one of our hub cities," Daly said.

Edmonton has been more persistent on hosting NHL games than the other two Canadian cities.

"Alberta began its phased relaunch of our economy on May 14, and there have been no measurable increases in the case numbers for coronavirus in the province," Kenney wrote in a letter to Trudeau on Tuesday. "New COVID-19 cases in Edmonton are averaging one per day, with recovered cases far outweighing any new infections."

Kenney said earlier in May that Edmonton is the "safest place" in North America to host NHL games due to the low number of COVID-19 cases.

Part of Kenney's push is the fact that Edmonton boasts a luxurious 364-room hotel attached to its state-of-the-art arena, Rogers Place, that could form a "quarantine zone." He said local public health officials are on board with the plan.

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Alberta premier Jason Kenney is asking Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau to remove coronavirus-related travel restrictions so that Edmonton can become a hub city when the NHL resumes play, according to Reuters.

The NHL unveiled its 24-team return-to-play format Tuesday, which includes the use of two hub cities - one for each conference. There are 10 cities currently under consideration, including Toronto, Edmonton, and Vancouver.

However, the federal government has a 14-day isolation order for all individuals entering Canada. NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly said Wednesday that the league would like to have a Canadian hub city, but this rule may prevent it.

"If we're not able to resolve that issue or solve that issue, I think it effectively eliminates our ability to come to a Canadian city as one of our hub cities," Daly said.

Edmonton has been more persistent on hosting NHL games than the other two Canadian cities.

"Alberta began its phased relaunch of our economy on May 14, and there have been no measurable increases in the case numbers for coronavirus in the province," Kenney wrote in a letter to Trudeau on Tuesday. "New COVID-19 cases in Edmonton are averaging one per day, with recovered cases far outweighing any new infections."

Kenney said earlier in May that Edmonton is the "safest place" in North America to host NHL games due to the low number of COVID-19 cases.

Part of Kenney's push is the fact that Edmonton boasts a luxurious 364-room hotel attached to its state-of-the-art arena, Rogers Place, that could form a "quarantine zone." He said local public health officials are on board with the plan.

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Buffalo Sabres captain Jack Eichel didn't mince words when speaking about missing the playoffs for the fifth straight season since entering the league in 2015.

"Listen, I'm fed up with the losing and I'm frustrated. It's not an easy pill to swallow right now," Eichel said on a conference call Thursday, according to Postmedia's Michael Traikos. "It's been a tough past couple of months and a tough past five years."

After being selected second overall in the 2015 draft, Eichel quickly transitioned into an MVP-caliber player with the Sabres. In the 2019-20 season, he recorded 36 goals and 42 assists in 68 games.

Despite his individual success, the Sabres have failed to break free from the bottom of the league's standings. Since his rookie season, the team has finished in sixth place in the Atlantic Division twice, seventh once, and eighth twice.

The 23-year-old pointed to the newly developed 24-team playoff format as even more reason for his frustration. The Sabres narrowly missed the cut, sitting at 25th place.

"It adds to the frustration that you can't get to a 24-team playoff," Eichel said. "Our goal at the beginning of the season wasn't to make the 24-team playoff. It was to make a 16-team playoff."

He added: "In a situation like this, a lot of the teams that are going to continue to play. They probably thought they were going to be out of it. They’re going to gain valuable experience. Now we're not one of them. It adds to the frustration. It adds to it a lot."

Eichel has led his team in points over the past four seasons. He's recorded 137 goals and 200 assists in 354 career games.

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