Board Of Governors Approves Changes To NHL Draft Lottery Format

In a bit of interesting news on Tuesday, the NHL Board of Governors has approved a few changes to the way the NHL Draft Lottery will be conducted moving forward. Per Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic and TSN, among the approved changes were a reduced number of lottery draws, the maximum a team can move up and how often a team can win the lottery if they’ve previously won.

Related: Big Decision Looming For Blue Jackets on David Savard

A reminder of the draft lottery changes, approved by the Board of Governors: https://t.co/IHBFWbsGw7 pic.twitter.com/YLwCw2IAJj

— Pierre LeBrun (@PierreVLeBrun) March 23, 2021

Prior to today’s changes, the top three selections in each draft year were decided by the lottery. Now, it will be only the top two teams and that will go into effect this year. Essentially, what this means is that the last place team cannot pick any lower than third overall. For example, had this rule been in effect at the last draft, the Detroit Red Wings could have selected Tim Stutzle.

As well, starting in 2022, only 11 teams can win the draft lottery and the maximum move-up is 10 spots which means that not every team who misses the playoffs will be eligible. While last season was unique in the how the lottery worked, that teams just outside the playoffs but included in the bubble also had a chance to win the lottery was a huge point of contention.

Finally, the new format will prevent a team from winning the “draft lottery more than twice in a five-year period”. We can nickname this one the ‘Edmonton Oilers rule’. Meaning, a consistently bad team can’t win the lottery three times in five seasons and totally revamp their team through first-overall or much higher selections. Again, this new rule will be implemented in 2022. Important to note, this isn’t exclusive to the 1st overall pick. It means a team can’t advance “by reason of lottery win more than twice.”

What Do You Think of the Changes?

With the league’s worst teams often falling out of the first-overall slot, many were calling for major changes to be made to the draft lottery format. Is what’s been done enough? With the Philadelphia Flyers winning in 2017, Carolina Hurricanes in 2018, and New York Rangers in 2020, most of the past five drafts were won by teams not in last place. These changes will reduce that from happening.

Or, does this open up the possibility that really bad teams will potentially tank their lousy seasons more than they already do? Knowing your odds of getting the better pick increase, are you more likely to ensure last if your season is already in the toilet?

Next: Maple Leafs Trade Rumors Tie Team to Kings G Jonathan Quick