In 1970, two new franchises were awarded in the NHL — the Buffalo Sabres and the Vancouver Canucks. It was a foregone conclusion Perreault would be the first selection in the 1970 Entry Draft. The two new teams took part in a roulette wheel spin to determine who would get the first pick. Ultimately, the Canucks were allocated numbers 2-6 on the wheel, while the Sabres had 8-12 (The number 7 spot was neutral, meaning the pointer landing on it would have required a re-spin). When league president Clarence Campbell spun the wheel, he initially thought the pointer landed on 1 (in reality, the wheel had no number 1 spot) and started to congratulate the Vancouver delegation. However, Sabres coach/general manager Punch Imlach asked Campbell to check again. As it turned out, the pointer was on 11. Imlach had chosen 8-12 for the roulette wheel spin because it included 11, which was his favourite number. This was the first year the Montreal Canadiens did not have a priority right to draft Québécois junior players. Consequently, Perreault was available and taken first overall by the Sabres.