There’s been plenty of discussion and speculation that the NHL will alter the format of the NHL Draft in order to prevent teams from intentionally losing in order to pick up a star player. With the 2015 Draft expected to be loaded with talent, the NHL is supposedly weighing their options.
According to Buffalo GM Tim Murray, those potential changes won’t be in place anytime soon.
Murray told The Buffalo News:
We’ve all heard that talk of the five-team, five-year rotation, things like that, but there’s been really no appetite to do that. They don’t think there’s any appetite right now to change it. I believe if there is an appetite to change it, if they’re going to make a drastic change, it has to be something like three to five years out so it doesn’t affect somebody that’s in that position now.
From what I understand, they’re not worried about tanking for McDavid and Eichel.
As you might imagine, teams which are expected to be near the bottom of the pack (like Buffalo) wouldn’t be too happy with the Draft suddenly having a new format. The NHL may roll out a change, but it’s likely it won’t be in place for several seasons so that it doesn’t damage the chances of teams who are in line for a boost from the draft.
If you’re unfamiliar with the NHL Draft’s current format, here’s how it works:
All 14 teams that miss the playoffs are entered into a weighted lottery to determine the first pick. The 30th-place team has a 25 percent chance of winning, while the 29th-place team has an 18.8 percent chance. The odds dwindle to 0.5 percent for the team that finishes 17th. The rest of the first round is conducted in reverse order of finish, so no team can move down more than one spot.
