NHL teams reportedly voted overwhelmingly in favor of changing the current format that would see most staff stay in their home cities.
DALLAS — According to several reports, NHL teams have voted in favor of changing up the current NHL Draft. Instead of having the entire staff head down to the annual event, the change would see them stay home and work from their own team offices.
It's not clear exactly how the Toronto Maple Leafs voted on this issue but a head coach like Sheldon Keefe would miss out on some of the things he enjoyed about the existing format.
"I think there’s something to that that I enjoy being a part of and getting to know the player and see them right away and they see you from Day 1," Keefe said.
The NHL held virtual drafts in 2020 and 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic and everything appeared to go smoothly.
"It’s a lot more comfortable and you’re able to have a lot more conversations openly and all those kinds of things. So I see the benefits all around, not an easy decision to make," Keefe said.
In 2022, the NHL returned to its current format where all team staff are seated on the floor at individual tables, adjacent to each other, on the floor of the host arena. In 2023, the Stanley Cup Playoffs schedule was such that the last day of the Draft was June 29, two days before the start of NHL free agency, making for some logistical issues.
In previous years, the Draft and Free agency had a longer buffer time, usually about a week.
At least under this proposed format, Maple Leafs GM Brad Treliving wouldn't have had to be away from his staff at the Draft table, or if he would. It would be tougher to enforce.
Treliving signed on to become Toronto's general manager while he was still technically under contract with the Calgary Flames until June 30, 2023. The Flames put a restriction in place that Treliving couldn't join Toronto's draft table until after the Flames' first-round selection.
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