Jun 28, 2024; Las Vegas, Nevada, USA; Ivan Demidov is selected with the 5th overall pick of the first round of the 2024 NHL Draft at The Sphere. Mandatory Credit: Stephen R. Sylvanie-Imagn Images

Photo credit: Stephen R. Sylvanie-Imagn Images

This June, the NHL will experience a first, as its draft will follow the NFL model-decentralized.

The executives of all 32 NHL teams will remain at their headquarters, while a league representative will announce the picks at the podium.

Even though this new process was voted in by the teams, many league executives are not fond of the idea at all.

To address this, they proposed a new idea to make this new reality more worthwhile.

As Elliotte Friedman mentioned in the latest episode of the podcast 32 Thoughts, these executives floated the idea of combining the draft (back to being centralized) with the opening of free agency into one single multi-day event.

A New Approach to the Opening of Free Agency That Would Solve Many Problems: The NHL Is Considering a U-Turn on the New Draft Format

In this proposed new version, future free agents could attend in person to meet with various front offices.

As Friedman pointed out, several teams actually stayed in Vegas after the last draft to prepare for July 1st.

The teams are already there, the agents are already there. Several teams, including Toronto, stayed in Vegas last year for the opening of free agency. Why not just ask everyone to stay there?”

– Elliotte Friedman

In addition to boosting the free agent market, the trade market would also be significantly impacted.

Imagine having all the big names in the NHL in one place, preparing for the upcoming season.

A bit like the Winter Meetings in MLB.

It would make for quite a show, especially if the event is properly televised.

This idea would also address a common issue on July 1st-tampering.

Too often, we see contracts announced at 12:15 p.m., even though discussions between players and teams were supposedly prohibited just fifteen minutes earlier..

In recent months, NHL Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly reminded general managers of the league’s rules regarding tampering.

He highlighted to GMs the penalties for tampering, including fines and the loss of draft picks.

Daly said he felt “uneasy” about reports that teams had reached deals with free agents before the official market opening.

Teams are not allowed to speak with free agents before noon on July 1st unless they have permission from the player’s current team.

An agent may also request permission to speak with other teams on behalf of their player.