St. Louis GM proposes draft lottery change
In 2014, the Florida Panthers won the draft lottery and picked franchise defenceman Aaron Ekblad first overall.
In 2015, the Edmonton Oilers hit the jackpot by getting the opportunity to take generational talent Connor McDavid at No. 1.
In both instances, the team that was awarded the top selection did not finish 30th in the NHL standings but earned the right to take the top- rated prospect by leapfrogging the last-place Buffalo Sabres thanks to the favourable results of the lottery.
As such, St. Louis Blues general manager Doug Armstrong does not think any teams in those circumstances should be allowed to win the lottery again for another five years unless they place dead last in the standings.
“I think people are concerned that the wrong teams are being rewarded based on luck,” Armstrong said Sunday from Florida, where the NHL’s general managers will congregate for their annual spring meetings in Boca Raton starting Monday.
Keep in mind that Armstrong is not specifically targeting the Panthers and Oilers, he’s just using them as examples. At the same time, there seems to be a sense of paranoia among various fan bases throughout the league that Edmonton might win the lottery again without finishing last, a scenario that would see them get the No. 1 pick for the fifth time in the past seven drafts.
Armstrong is intent on presenting his concept to his fellow GMs over the next several days. Whether the idea gains any momentum remains to be seen, but there does seem to be some intrigue snowballing among the league’s movers and shakers concerning the proposal.
Under the framework of The Oilers Rule, which is what some are calling Armstrong’s plan, the blueprint is a simple one. If you are the team finishing at the bottom of the standings, you are eligible through the lottery to get the No. 1 selection.
On the other hand, if you have moved up in the lottery like the Oilers and Panthers did to get that coveted top selection without having finished last, you won’t be eligible to replicate that feat for another five years after doing so.
“The theory is that if you finish last you always have a chance to win the lottery,” Armstrong said. “So, if you finish last three years in a row, you can win the lottery three years in a row. But if you didn’t finish last and win the lottery, you can’t do it again for another five years. If you are like Edmonton last year and finished 28th and won the lottery, you couldn’t win it again this year if you didn’t finish last.
“As for the five years, I’d be moderately flexible on the number of years. But here’s my point, just the theory that you can get lucky in winning the lottery once but that’s it. If you earn the first overall pick by being the worst team in hockey, I think you should get that right. We set it up that way on purpose especially in a lottery system where teams can move up. But I don’t think we should be rewarded based on luck more than once every five years.”
As for allegations that certain teams are “tanking,” Armstrong does not consider it an issue. “For me it’s not a thing of concern because of the parity,” Armstrong said.
“Players are competitive. They’re playing for their livelihoods, their jobs. When you go to negotiate your contract at the end of the year, they don’t say: “Hey congratulations, you got one point over the last 15 games, we’re going to pay you more.”
“Ultimately players have no stake in tanking. And when you see the number of young players in the game today, well, usually when a player gets called up, he’s hungrier. It’s almost the reverse philosophy. The logic is that when you trade veteran players you get worse. The reality is, when you trade veterans and bring up younger guys, in a lot of instances you get better. The statistics actually show that.”
The GMs have a number of other items on the agenda.
NHL goalie equipment sheriff Kay Whitmore will make a presentation showing the proposed new streamlined gear, while the GMs will review the concept of the Coach’s Challenge and discuss whether positive tweaks are needed. The expansion situation is also expected to be discussed, as is the potential of further punishment for players who decide to skip the all-star game.