Kukla's Korner Hockey

Kukla's Korner Hockey

Time For A New Draft

04/20/2014 at 9:22am EDT

from Larry Brooks of the New York Post,

Sabres. Panthers. Oilers. Islanders. Flames, Canes. Jets. The Welfare Class of an NHL whose administration promised the cap would mean anyone could win. Well not quite, no more so than the introduction of the cap meant ticket prices would become more affordable.

By the way, these teams are living proof bottoming out is not its own reward.

It’s time to revamp the system and get these perennial losers off the dole. In my perfect world, the draft would be eliminated altogether, with each team receiving a designated allowance for signing players to entry-level deals. Or, each player could be drafted by, say, five teams, and choose among them. But there’s less chance of the league adopting those suggestions than of Mike Gillis and John Tortorella sharing a meal.

So, I would suggest modifications to the draft of the following nature: Any team that drafts in the top seven for three straight years should not be eligible to select higher than eighth for the following three years. Any team that drafts in the top 10 for five straight years should not be eligible to select higher than 11th for the following five years.

I also would recommend two additional annual drawings, one for all playoff teams and one for all non-qualifiers, with the winner of the former replacing the “winner” of the latter in the Grand Losers’ Lottery for the chance to select first overall.

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About Kukla's Korner Hockey

Paul Kukla founded Kukla’s Korner in 2005 and the site has since become the must-read site on the ‘net for all the latest happenings around the NHL.

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