NHL Forced to Change One of Its Biggest Events of the Year Due To Fan Backlash
Photo credit: Sportsnet
Sportsnet insider Elliotte Friedman recently came through with a stunning report about the NHL and the upcoming Entry Draft, which is taking on a new format.
This year, the NHL made a pretty polarizing announcement when they revealed that the NHL Draft would be undertaking a new decentralized format.
Overall, this was a big deal because it meant the draft would follow the same format as leagues like the NBA and the NFL. The GMs and executives would not be on the draft floor.
Instead, players will accept their jerseys from a team representative, while the General Manager and his staff remain in the war room in their respective cities.
NHL recognizes its big draft mistake
There has been a ton of backlash to this idea, with some feeling as though it completely breaks tradition and will not be as good of a time for the players.
It is hard to disagree with such an assessment, given the fact that the NHL has always been known for its personal touch. Keeping the staff at home feels like an error in judgment.
Well, the NHL has seen the error of its ways. According to Elliotte Friedman, the NHL is going to go back to the old format next year.
On Real Kyper and Bourne, Elliotte Friedman said he believes the NHL's new centralized draft format will last only one year, with the league expected to return to the traditional format in June 2026, says everyone realizes this was a mistake.
The NHL Entry Draft is set to go down between June 27 and 28. It is taking place in Los Angeles, which is a pretty good spot for the draft, all things considered.
Only time will tell whether or not this decentralized experiment works in practice. While it may not work in the minds of fans, players, and execs, it may actually function well from an operational standpoint.
Either way, you cannot fault the NHL for experimenting and going ahead to try new things.
| POLL | ||
JUIN 3 | 323 ANSWERS NHL Forced to Change One of Its Biggest Events of the Year Due To Fan Backlash Do you believe a decentralized NHL Draft was a bad idea? | ||
| YES | 254 | 78.6 % |
| NO | 69 | 21.4 % |
| List of polls | ||
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