NHL draft lottery losers last year, the Florida Panthers had their number come up this year. In the meantime, chalk up yet another loss for the Buffalo Sabres. The Panthers bucked the odds Tuesday by jumping up a spot and earned the right to the top pick in June. Florida, which finished 29th in the league, vaulted ahead of the last-place Sabres, who had the best odds of winning the lottery held in Toronto. "It means a lot to us. Weve very excited," said Travis Viola, Panthers president of hockey operations. "Were looking to continue to build on our core talent of young players. Its just a great opportunity." It also marked a reversal of fortune for Florida. After finishing last a year ago, the Panthers were relegated to the No. 2 pick after Colorado won the lottery. The top two projected prospects are left wing Samuel Bennett, of OHL Kingston, who finished first in the final rankings released by NHL Central Scouting last week, and OHL Barrie defenceman Aaron Ekblad. The draft will be held in Philadelphia on June 27-28. The Panthers (29-45-8) had an 18.8 per cent chance of winning the lottery, behind only Buffalo (21-51-10), which had a 25 per cent shot. The Sabres continued whats been a losing trend since the season began in October. Buffalos 51 losses were a franchise worst, and the most losses in the NHL since the New York Islanders went 21-51-7-3 in 2000-01. General manager Tim Murray took the latest loss in stride, telling the teams website that he almost anticipated losing out on the No. 1 pick. "Were very comfortable," Murray said. "The other way wouldve been gravy, but its kind of what we thought would happen, and we prepared for it." The Sabres were guaranteed falling no further than second. Florida will have the first pick for the fourth time in franchise history. The Panthers are gradually rebuilding. They made a splash this year by acquiring goalie Roberto Luongo in a trade with Vancouver. And theyll be picking third or better for the fourth time in five years. Their previous top three picks -- defenceman Erik Gudbranson (in 2010), wing Jonathan Huberdeau (2011) and centre Aleksander Barkov (2013) -- all played significant roles this season. "Were anxious to put a winner in Florida," Viola said. The Panthers move up marked the fourth straight year in which the last-place team failed to win the lottery. Since the NHL lottery system was introduced in 1995, the last-place team has earned the No. 1 pick only six times. The Panthers had the No. 1 pick in the 2002 and 2003 drafts, but traded them away both times. They also had the No. 1 pick in 1994, when they selected defenceman Ed Jovanovski. The remaining 11 teams maintained their draft order based on the final standings, starting with the Edmonton Oilers staying with the No. 3 draft pick. Calgary will select fourth followed by the New York Islanders. The top 10 picks are rounded out by Vancouver picking sixth, followed by Carolina, Toronto, Winnipeg and Anaheim. The Pacific Division champion Ducks earned a lottery spot by acquiring a first-round pick in a trade with Ottawa, which finished 21st. The New Jersey Devils, who finished 20th, were included in the lottery to maintain the weighted odds, but were not eligible to be selected. The Devils are already slotted to pick 30th after being sanctioned by the NHL. The league ruled New Jersey circumvented the collective bargaining agreement by attempting to skirt the salary cap by signing Ilya Kovalchuk to a 17-year, $102 million contract in 2010. Center Sam Reinhart (WHL Kootenay) and left wing Leon Draisaitl (WHL Prince Albert) were ranked third and fourth among North American skaters, while the top-ranked European skater is Finnish right wing Kasperi Kapanen. The Sabres actually have a shot at holding three first-round picks based on two trades they made this year. The Islanders have to until June 1 to decide whether to hand over their first-round selection to Buffalo this year or next year. Islanders head amateur scout Trent Klatt said the team has not yet determined its plans. The Sabres will also acquire the Blues first-round pick should St. Louis reach the Western Conference finals. Delon Wright Raptors Jersey . The person spoke on condition of anonymity because no announcement was made. By releasing Bailey, the Broncos would open up cap space with the 12-time Pro Bowl player scheduled to make around $10 million next season. Delon Wright Jersey . -- The Tampa Bay Lightning are disappointed, though not discouraged. https://www.raptorsrookiesshop.com/Jerem...Edition-Jersey/. So true. It is one thing to create a winning football team, and another to keep it winning. Each and every week it changes. The NFL creates a unique interest of not who is "the best", but much more who is "the best this week". Kyle Lowry Raptors Jersey . - The Baltimore Ravens and tight end Dennis Pitta reached agreement on a five-year contract Friday. Jonas Valanciunas Raptors Jersey .com) - Manu Ginobili capped off a 26-point night with a go-ahead layup with 24 seconds left in overtime, with the basket giving the San Antonio Spurs a much-needed 95-93 victory over the New Orleans Pelicans. BEIJING -- Rafael Nadal will supplant Novak Djokovic atop the rankings after advancing to the final of the China Open on Saturday when Tomas Berdych of the Czech Republic retired with a back injury. The Spaniard was a break up at 4-2 in the opening set of their semifinal when Berdych retired soon after taking an injury timeout. Nadal could face Djokovic on Sunday, as the Serb played Richard Gasquet of France in the other semifinal later Saturday. Nadal, who improved to 27-0 on hard courts this season, will return to the top ranking for the first time since July 2011. Djokovic has been No. 1 for 101 weeks. "The personal satisfaction is not because I am No. 1 today, its because (of) all the work (I put in) to be where I am today," Nadal said. "I dont feel (like) a better player now than five hours ago, and I wont go to bed tonight feeling that I am the best player in the world--thats something Ive never thought." In the womens draw, top-ranked Serena Williams and Jelena Jankovic of Serbia advanced to the final with contrasting wins.dddddddddddd Serena earned a straight-forward 6-2, 6-2 victory over Agnieszka Radwanska of Poland while Jankovic rallied for a 6-7 (7), 6-1, 6-1 win over Petra Kvitova of the Czech Republic. Nadal had been assured of reclaiming the top spot if he reached the final in Beijing or Djokovic failed to defend his title. Nadal, the reigning French Open and U.S. Open champion, has had a dominant year since returning in February from a seven-month layoff due to a left knee injury. He has won 10 titles and reached 12 finals overall, compiling an ATP Tour-best record of 65-3 on the season. He hasnt lost a match since falling in the opening round at Wimbledon to 135th-ranked Steve Darcis of Belgium in June, his only blip this year. "(This is) a great year, one of the best years of my career without any doubt," Nadal said. "Sure is special (to) be back to the top position of the rankings after more than a half year without playing tennis." ' ' '