BUFFALO – Tim Murray’s thoughts on the NHL Draft Lottery haven’t been conveyed in a regular forum since the Sabres general manager never had a season-ending media session.
The Sabres turned down requests from The Times Herald and other outlets to make Murray available this week. Murray won’t speak until after the lottery Saturday night in Toronto.
The team’s Web site released two comments from Murray today. Of course, they’re mostly the canned comments you would expect.
The Sabres, thanks to a 30th-place finish, have the greatest odds, just 20 percent, of winning the lottery and drafting mega-prospect Connor McDavid in June.
“I don’t think about the draft lottery. I just assume we’re going to lose, so it’s just another day,” Murray told Sabres.com. “We’ve got an 80 percent chance of losing the lottery. So if I spent my days worrying about that, I’d be a basket case by Saturday. It’s just another day in the process.”
He added: “I can’t wait until it’s over. I can’t wait until Sunday and Monday, and we know where we’re picking, and we just prepare.”
Meanwhile, the NHL also released the list of lottery combinations today. Try making sense of all those numbers!