When the NHL announced the draft lottery format back in May, it was just a funny technicality that the Penguins were still "in" on the Alexis Lafreniere sweepstakes.
There were so many hoops to jump through, though. It wouldn't really happen, right?
In the first phase of the lottery, there was just a 24.5 percent chance that a qualifying-round team placeholder would even get the No. 1 pick. A one in four chance? Slim odds. And even if that were to happen, the Penguins would actually have to lose the five-game series to the No.