Did ESPN’s John Buccigross accidentally reveal the results of the 2024 NHL Draft Lottery hours before the lottery was even supposed to take place?
It sure appears that way.
Buccigross tweeted, then subsequently deleted, a picture from ESPN’s studios that had draft lottery results in the picture.
“this post has been deleted” i’m crying pic.twitter.com/LFfW4h8o6l
— m 🧚🏼♀️ (@spelunky_) May 7, 2024
In the since-deleted tweet, the San Jose Sharks landed the No. 1 overall pick after having the top odds. But the Utah (INSERT NAME HERE), who will enter the league in 2024-25 in place of the Arizona Coyotes, jumped from No. 6 to No. 2.
That knocked each of the Chicago Blackhawks, Anaheim Ducks, Columbus Blue Jackets and Montreal Canadiens each down a spot.
Each team from then on down held position.
Now, you may say, “it could be a practice run through.”
And that could be true!
But if it were, why would you then delete the tweet rather than point out that fact?
Buccigross’s decision to delete the tweet only added more intrigue. Does the NHL now draw again. The lottery is supposed to be, in theory, a live event.
But if the league were to, say, alter the outcome, then their new franchise would have a better chance at landing a superstar that would help get it off the ground.
NHL Fans Believe Draft Lottery Is Fixed After Since-Deleted Tweet
Fans were convinced of a conspiracy.
The NHL just can’t get out of the way of NHLing itself eh https://t.co/mpL67guD7P
— Beebs Bondy (@Beebsbondy) May 7, 2024
name a more unserious league than the NHL you literally can’t https://t.co/ZCRe035D56
— fabs (@eternalsatvrn) May 7, 2024
NHL better hope this turns out different 😂 https://t.co/UKDbExCSQJ
— NHLwookiee (@NHLwookiee) May 7, 2024
Surely if the NHL already ran the “lottery” and predetermined the outcome, it now needs to run it again.
How else would it explain to fans what happened?
Even if the lottery itself took place earlier in the day and was truly a lottery, the league is never beating the conspiracy allegations if it works out the way Buccigross showed.
Star center Macklin Celebrini is projected to go No. 1 overall in the 2024 NHL Draft. While a host of options, including Russian star Ivan Demidov, could go at No. 2.