The NHL wants to push up the 2020 NHL Draft into June despite the season being postponed, but it makes virtually no sense to do so.
The novel coronavirus pandemic has thrown a monkey wrench into plans across the globe. Professional sports leagues have been hit especially hard, as most leagues aren’t having games. It’s even affecting those leagues that aren’t playing, as the NFL had to make multiple adjustments to their 2020 draft in April. The surprising success of the draft in April is likely a motivating factor of the NHL’s recent push to have the 2020 NHL Draft in June.
Now, it’s usually held in June. However, the circumstances surround the 2020 draft are circumstances we haven’t seen before. Never has a draft happened before the conclusion of a season. But if the NHL opens back up the league for the 2019-20 season (and they sure want to), there will be a draft before a Stanley Cup champion is crowned.
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A memo sent to the teams last week suggests the league is moving forward on the draft in June. The memo addressed a number of the concerns, including conditional picks and the lottery format. However, a draft in June still makes very little sense for several reasons.
Draft Lottery
Usually, the NHL draft lottery consists of deciding which three non-playoff teams get the top three picks in the draft. The worst teams are given the best chances to have a pick in the top three, and the furthest a team can fall is three spots.
However, the proposed format for this year is a bit different. There will only be one ping-pong balled drawn, meaning each team will be able to move down at most one spot. It’s quite similar to the old format that was used before the current one we know.
Additionally, it’s possible each team will only be able to move up at most four spots. For example, let’s suppose the Montreal Canadiens win the lottery. Currently, they’re the eighth-worst playoff team. So they’d move up to the fourth spot.
Regardless of which format is used, one thing is for certain. The format is terrific for really bad teams like the Detroit Red Wings, who have a 57% chance of netting the first overall pick, and the Ottawa Senators, who have two top five picks. However, it’s bad for everyone else, especially teams like the Buffalo Sabres and Canadiens. It’s even worse for them if they can only move up four spots.
Conditional Picks
In its memo, the league addressed the pink elephant in the room – conditional picks. Understandably, teams have a ton of questions about them. The league will propose a solution and teams will have a chance to work something else out.
To me, this make no sense. Why not just wait until the end of the postseason? Then no team will have a bone to pick with anybody. It will be just like normal.
Ratings
If you want to know why the NHL wants to have its draft in June, every reason is bogus except for one. Ratings. That’s ultimately why the league wants to have the draft in June. After seeing the ratings from the NFL Draft in April, its understandable.
However, people actually watch the NFL Draft. Far fewer people tune into the NHL Draft. And far fewer people will be interested because unlike the NFL Draft, where fans can see where their favorite college players will end up, fans have probably never seen any of the prospects play more than, at most, 10 games or so.
I get why the NHL wants the draft in June. But it’s still completely illogical and farcical. The league should postpone the draft at least until they know what’s going on regarding the rest of the season.