On the night the Edmonton Oilers won the 2015 draft lottery, NHL commissioner Gary Bettman and a small group of club representatives, league personnel, accountants and a pool reporter were gathered in a sealed off, sequestered room in the Sportsnet offices in Toronto. To prove it wasn’t rigged in any way, Bettman held up a fresh copy of The Globe and Mail newspaper, reading the date as a way to timestamp the moment. As it turned out, it was completely unnecessary, because nobody would accuse the league of rigging what ultimately happened.

It was the first year of a two-year draft lottery transition that lowered the odds for the worst teams to win the lottery.

“We are here to determine the order of the first 14 selections of the 2015 NHL draft, using a weighted lottery system to eliminate any perception that clubs had any incentive to play less than their best during the regular season,” Bettman announced.

The Sabres were the favorites, but had just a 20 percent chance of landing the No. 1 pick and Connor McDavid. Edmonton had just an 11.5 percent chance.