Penguins Miss Playoffs: Sharks Likely To Have Two 2024 Draft Lottery Picks

The Pittsburgh Penguins’ loss is the San Jose Sharks’ gain.

The San Jose Sharks acquired Pittsburgh’s 2024 first-round pick, top-10 protected, as part of last August’s Erik Karlsson trade.

The reigning Norris Trophy winner couldn’t replicate that form with his new team, and the Pens just fell short of the playoffs after the Washington Capitals edged the Philadelphia Flyers 2-1 tonight to clinch the Eastern Conference’s last wild card berth.

The Penguins will be going into the Draft lottery in either the 13th or 14th spot.

If they had made the playoffs, a surprise Conference Finals trip or better would’ve put their 2024 first-rounder in the back of the Draft.

It’s possible for Pittsburgh to win the lottery and move into the top-10, but in all likelihood, about a 90 percent chance, according to Tankathon, they’re going to stay put.

If the Penguins’ pick does move into the top-10, GM Kyle Dubas will have the option of retaining it, giving the Sharks an unprotected Pittsburgh 2025 first-rounder instead.

In that unlikely scenario, the Pens will have 72 hours after the Draft lottery to decide the fate of their 2024 first.

So who could the San Jose Sharks draft at No. 13 or 14 in the 2024 Draft?

According to TSN’s Bob McKenzie, Corey Pronman and Scott Wheeler of the Athletic, Chris Peters of FloHockey, Steven Ellis of Daily Faceoff, and Elite Prospects, prospects at No. 13-14 could include defensemen Zeev Buium and Adam Jiricek (McKenzie), wingers Cole Eiserman and Igor Chernyshov (Pronman), winger Michael Brandsegg-Nygård and center Michael Hage (Wheeler), wingers Trevor Connelly and Brandsegg-Nygård (Peters), defenseman Carter Yakemchuk and winger Liam Greentree (Ellis), and wingers Greentree and Connelly (EP).

It’s worth noting that McKenzie and Peters’s most recent Draft prospects rankings are from mid-season.

The Draft lottery is scheduled to take place on May 6 or 7.

The last-place San Jose Sharks will also have the best odds to win the first-overall selection, likely to be Macklin Celebrini.