Seattle Kraken: NHL considering changes for draft and lottery

As the Seattle Kraken work towards their NHL debut, they will reportedly have new aspects to consider in the countdown to the 2021-22 season.

We recently wrote about how the Seattle Kraken have a clearer timeline of what lies ahead, while making preparations for the 2021-22 NHL season. However, if recent reports are any indication, they now have a couple of possible changes to consider ahead of their debut on the ice.

Delaying the 2021 NHL draft by a year

The first potential change focuses on the 2021 NHL draft, which is currently set to take place on July 23-24. As reported by TSN‘s Darren Dreger, the NHL is considering pushing this year’s draft back to next summer.

This would result in the NHL conceivably holding back-to-back drafts. Unsurprisingly, this approach has been influenced by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

The majority of youngsters who are eligible for the 2021 draft are not playing hockey at the moment. To hold a draft this year would essentially put all NHL teams at a disadvantage when evaluating the available talent.

It should be noted that such a move would be CBA-related. As things stand the NHLPLA is not yet involved and they would understandably play a pivotal role in any discussions.

(As per Sportsnet‘s Chris Johnston, there is also talk of holding a small tournament in the spring, in order to keep the 2021 draft in place for this year. However, there would be several obstacles to overcome, including scouts being able to travel for evaluations.)

Assuming this plan does come to fruition, it would lead to the question of how this would impact the Kraken? More specifically, how would such a decision influence their efforts to build a competitive team?

Fortunately, it wouldn’t be much of an issue. (Although if it was, you have to believe the NHL would do something to help a franchise ahead of their inaugural season.) This is because the Kraken will rely on the expansion draft, free agency and trades to build their roster for the 2021-22 campaign.

Revamping the NHL draft lottery

In respect of the 2021 draft and whenever it does actually take place, this brings us to the second change potentially facing the Kraken. The good news is that this is one which could actually benefit them.

As reported by TSN‘s Pierre LeBrun, the NHL is considering revamping the draft lottery. This was confirmed to LeBrun by NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly, who advised the league is working on changing the format.

One of the main reasons for this relates to what happened to the Detroit Red Wings in the last draft lottery. Despite easily finishing with the worst record in the league — 23 points behind the second-worst team — they ended up falling to fourth in the first round of the 2020 draft.

The theory behind the draft lottery is to create some excitement, while stopping teams intentionally tanking for the top talent. However, the league doesn’t like that a franchise such as Detroit — which is undergoing a genuine rebuild –didn’t even end up with a top three pick in the first round.

So what would any potential changes mean for the Kraken? Consider what happened to the Vegas Golden Knights, when they took part in their inaugural draft lottery in 2017.

The Knights were given the third-best odds to win the first overall draft pick, but ultimately fell to sixth place in the opening round. (They retained the third pick for round two through seven.)

You would assume that any changes to the draft lottery would benefit the Kraken rather than put them in a worse position. Daly told LeBrun something is going to be presented to the Board of Governors sooner rather than later; it will be interesting to seem how the revamp impacts the NHL’s newest franchise.

What’s your take on the reported plans to delay the 2021 NHL draft and revamp the lottery? Do you agree or disagree with these potential changes? Let us know in the comments section below.