NHL Teams Vote to Decentralize Draft: Reports

The NHL sent a memo to all 32 teams stating the vast majority of clubs have voted to decentralize the draft, according to reports.

Will MacLaren and Jamie Tozer discuss the players who will represent the 'Q,' as well as an intriguing prospect between the pipes.

The NHL sent a league-wide memo on Wednesday detailing that the vast majority of teams have voted to decentralize the annual draft.

According to a report from Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman, the memo does not state whether or not this new format will be instituted as early as 2024 with the draft set to be held in Las Vegas. There are still several logistical issues to solve before anything concrete can be put in place, according to The Athletic's Chris Johnston.

As Friedman reports, there had been growing interest in decentralizing the draft for quite some time, with teams voicing concerns over the cost of sending all team employees and scouts to one location, the short turnaround to free agency and the potential for information to be leaked with all 32 teams situated so close together, among others.

Aside from the 2020 and 2021 drafts, which were held virtually due to COVID-19, all of the NHL's drafts have been held in a single centralized location since 1963. This change in format would bring the NHL much more in line with that of other leagues like the NBA and NFL, with teams conducting draft operations remotely while top prospects attend the draft in person.