NHL-worst Sharks win lottery, right to choose No. 1
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Greg Wyshynski, ESPN
SECAUCUS, N.J. — Macklin Celebrini watched NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly slowly flip the placard to reveal that the San Jose Sharks had secured the first overall pick in the 2024 NHL draft lottery Tuesday night.
“My heart was beating. You can’t really prepare for it. It’s so unique, so special,” said Celebrini, the Boston University star who is expected to be the first overall pick in the NHL draft, set for The Sphere in Las Vegas in June. “It was excitement and, really, a little anxious.”
The Sharks finished last in the overall standings (19-54-9) and retained their position in the lottery. San Jose had an 18.5% chance to win the lottery and a 25.5% chance to pick first.
The lottery proved anticlimactic with no changes to the draft order this season. The Chicago Blackhawks, who selected center Connor Bedard with the No. 1 pick last year, retained the No. 2 selection, followed by the Anaheim Ducks at No. 3.
Sharks general manager Mike Grier indicated that his team would select Celebrini with the first overall pick.
“I would think so,” he said. “It wasn’t an easy year, but this was a real nice prize for us.”
Celebrini, a Vancouver native, has ties to the Bay Area. He is the son of Rick Celebrini, the Golden State Warriors director of sports medicine and performance. Macklin lived in the San Jose area and played for the San Jose Junior Sharks 14U AAA team.
Celebrini, 17, was a freshman at Boston University last season. He won the Hobey Baker Award as the NCAA’s top men’s hockey player and could become the first player to win that award and then go first overall in the NHL draft. He said he’ll make the decision to either return to BU or play in the NHL next season after the draft.
Grier said the Sharks will speak with Celebrini and his family to see what his intentions are but that the center has “the ability to play” in the NHL immediately.
Celebrini said he spoke with Bedard and other top prospects who were drafted to rebuilding teams like the Sharks. “It’s a unique situation just going into that,” he said. “But it’s kind of cool building something special there.”
The NHL draft was held at the NHL Network studios. There were 19 people in a small, windowless room, including three media observers. A video screen displayed each team’s odds for the first overall pick. In front of the screen was a lottery machine attached to a hand-held control operated by Will Markham, a machine technician.
Balls numbering one through 14 were loaded into the machine one by one. Commissioner Gary Bettman addressed the room with a lengthy explanation of the draft lottery rules and explained the drawing process: A four-number combination that was randomly assigned to one of the 14 teams in the lottery would be drawn. In total, there were 1,001 possible combinations. The teams were allotted a number of combinations based on their lottery odds.
With an NHL camera rolling, Bettman held up his phone to show the lottery started at 5:38 p.m. ET. He held up that day’s copies of The Wall Street Journal and The New York Times front pages to certify the date.
There were two lottery draws, one for the first overall pick and one for the second selection. The balls were drawn every 20 seconds, with an NHL employee shouting “draw!” at the end of each interval.
The first number combination was 10-2-7-11, in order, drawn at 5:50 p.m.
Scott Clarke of Ernst and Young confirmed that the Sharks owned that combination.
The drawing for the second overall pick was 2-8-4-11. The winner was the Sharks, meaning it had to be redrawn. The redraw was 14-11-3-9. Again, the winner was the Sharks.
“We’ve never had a redraw before and now we have two,” said Bettman, glancing at Markham. “I hope your finger isn’t getting tired.”
The fourth drawing was 6-11-3-14. Clarke confirmed that combination belonged to the Blackhawks, meaning the two teams with the best lottery odds ended up with the top two picks.
As Bettman left the room, NHL employees began securing team logos to placards with the NHL shield on them. They were transported to the TV studio to be revealed live on the air by Daly.
Celebrini took part in the live TV broadcast of the draft and was on camera when Daly revealed the Sharks had won it. The NHL prospect said he received advice about how to react to the revelation of the first overall pick.
“Just a little heads up from everyone, just how to react,” Celebrini said. “Obviously, it’s live.”
Part of that advice was a cautionary tale: That time in 2015 when presumed first overall pick Connor McDavid became an instant meme for his stunned reaction to the Edmonton Oilers winning the lottery.
“Yeah, that’s what everyone brought up to me,” Celebrini said. “He had a unique experience.”
The order of selection for the first 16 picks of the first round:
1. San Jose Sharks
2. Chicago Blackhawks
3. Anaheim Ducks
6. Utah
11. Buffalo Sabres
13. Minnesota Wild
14. San Jose Sharks (from Pittsburgh)
16. St. Louis Blues
The NHL draft will be held at The Sphere in Las Vegas on June 28-29. It marks the first time the draft will be held in Las Vegas and the first event televised live from The Sphere.
TORONTO — The Blue Jays acquired $2 million in international signing bonus pool allocation from the Cleveland Guardians that could be used in their pursuit of Japanese pitcher Roki Sasaki as part of a trade Friday that also brought underperforming outfielder Myles Straw to Toronto.
Cleveland will send $3.75 million to the Blue Jays, offsetting some of the $14.75 million Straw is guaranteed for the final two years of a $25 million, five-year contract. The Guardians will receive a player to be named or cash.
Toronto boosted its international signing pool to $8,261,600 and had not signed any players since the 2025 window opened Wednesday, leaving the entire amount available for Sasaki.
Also being being pursued by the Los Angeles Dodgers and San Diego Padres, the 23-year-old right-hander has until Thursday to reach agreement with a Major League Baseball team. He is considered an international amateur by MLB and can sign only a minor league contract subject to the same bonus pools as Latin American prospects.
Straw has salaries of $6 million this year and $7 million in 2026 and is guaranteed a $1.75 million buyout of a 2027 team option. Cleveland will send Toronto $1 million this year, $1 million in 2026 and $1.75 million at the end of 2026.
Cleveland agreed to the long-term deal in April 2022 but Straw hit just .221 with no homers, 32 RBIs and 21 stolen bases that year, then batted .238 with 1 homer, 29 RBIs and 20 steals in 2023.
He was sent outright to Triple-A Columbus in April and hit .240 with 3 homers, 47 RBIs and 30 steals. Cleveland brought him up in September, and he went 1-for-4 over seven games.
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Jorge Castillo, ESPN Staff Writer
The New York Mets and left-hander A.J. Minter have agreed on a two-year, $22 million contract Friday, sources confirmed to ESPN’s Jeff Passan, giving a team starved for bullpen help one of the best relievers on the free-agent market.
The deal, which is pending a physical, includes an opt-out after the 2025 season. SNY first reported the agreement.
Minter, 31, was a key contributor during the Atlanta Braves’ recent run of success, posting a 3.28 ERA across 384 relief appearances since debuting in 2017. He was a member of the 2021 World Series championship club and enjoyed his best full season the following year, pitching to a 2.06 ERA in 75 games. Hip inflammation limited Minter to 39 appearances in 2024, but he was effective when healthy with a 2.62 ERA over 34 ⅓ innings in a setup role.
He joins a club that prioritized acquiring a top-flight reliever this winter to partner with closer Edwin Diaz late in games. Being a lefty checks another box for New York, which, as it currently stands, has just one other left-handed reliever (Alex Young) on their 40-man roster.
The bullpen addition comes a day after the club reached a one-year deal with veteran outfielder/designated hitter Jesse Winker, who figures to be primarily used as a DH against right-handed pitchers.
Pete Alonso, the Mets’ homegrown star first baseman, remains a free agent. The two sides have attempted to negotiate a reunion, but they’ve recently reached an impasse over money on a three-year contract, according to a source. Without Alonso, the Mets could move third baseman Mark Vientos, a breakout star in 2024, across the diamond to first base with former top prospect Brett Baty, prospect Ronny Mauricio and Luisangel Acuna as internal candidates to start at third base.
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