Time for GMS to put good of game first
It’s senseless that National Hock ey League’s June dr aft idea might be going off the rails
It would appear even Gary Bettman and Bill Daly can’t get some NHL general managers to think outside the box and act for the greater good of the game.
When they hold their bi- weekly conference call with the board of governors on Monday, the NHL commissioner and his trusty deputy will have another conversation about the timing of the league’s annual draft. However, it doesn’t sound like they’ve been able to convince many GMS to get on board with the idea of holding the event in June — potentially before the end of the regular season and playoffs, should the 2019-2020 season resume. Bettman and Daly will likely give it one more try on the call before making a final decision.
After watching the massive success the NFL had in holding its draft virtually last month, the NHL wanted to capitalize on the fact there’s very little in the way of live sports at the moment by giving its television partners — Rogers in Canada and NBC Sports Network in the U. S. — some programming to help with their sagging audience numbers.
But many GMS don’t like the idea and aren’t willing to step outside their comfort zone during the COVID-19 pandemic, when holding one of the marquee events would be good for the league.
The issues they have are simple and could easily be resolved if some GMS were just a little bit more open-minded:
❚ No. 1: Some aren’t happy with the format of the lottery because under the proposed scenario, the odds would be based on the winning percentage when the league went on pause. The Detroit Red Wings would have the best odds to land the top pick, while the Ottawa Senators would be ranked No. 2 and No. 3 with their selection and the one they have from the San Jose Sharks in the Erik Karlsson trade in September 2018.
There was also concern a team could win the lottery, then go on to win the Stanley Cup in the summer. Daly proposed going back to the old lottery system for this year, with only 15 teams involved, but that was met with vicious opposition during the conference call with the board two weeks ago. Those who are in the playoff scenario want to have their cake and eat it, too, by being in the lottery.
❚ No. 2: GMS are not only concerned about finding solutions for the conditional trades they’ve made, they’re also worried about actual deals being able to take place completely.
For example, the Tampa Bay Lightning will have cap issues next season and may want to get the two years of Ondrej Palat’s deal, with a cap hit of US$ 5.3 million, off the books at this year’s draft by moving him for a pick. If they haven’t completed their season, they don’t feel they can make that kind of trade, but there’s no doubt in my mind the league could allow deals for future considerations for this draft only.
❚ No. 3: GMS don’t want to hold the draft before the true order is determined, which is odd because the league has offered a viable solution to alleviate those concerns.
The NHL’S Return to Play committee is still working on a plan to have teams come back from the pause that started on March 12, and the speculation is the league will reopen its facilities for smallgroup workouts as part of Phase 2 on June 1.
The expectation is if the league does return, it will be with 24 teams involved, with some kind of play- in format. There are concerns the Chicago Blackhawks and Montreal Canadiens, who have little chance of making the post- season and were sellers at the deadline, would play under this scenario and some GMS have indicated to the league those two teams should be done for the year.
Nobody is sure why Detroit general manager Steve Yzerman, who has a lot to gain from this draft, is against having it early, but he’s said publicly he doesn’t like it. It should be noted Ottawa owner Eugene Melnyk and GM Pierre Dorion have no objections to a June draft.
The fact there’s been so much concern about an early draft is mind-boggling. The NHL is going to have to hold it at some point and there’s absolutely nothing normal about the situation taking place across the world, so you have to adjust with the times.
“Some teams just want to resist because they think holding the draft is out of order,” a league executive said Friday. “It really only applies to the playoff teams and the other 15 teams are out, and they’re not even going to play games, so it doesn’t impact them at all.”
NHL officials told teams during the conference call two weeks ago they’d provide a month’s notice if they were going to hold the draft in June. So a decision has to be made next week, but at this point this idea has already gone into overtime and it’s time to end the debate one way or another.
Maybe some GMS will come to their senses and the draft will take place in June.