NHL Deputy Commish Says Teams Support Decentralized Draft (Even Though It Stinks)

This year marked the first time the NHL decided to go the NFL route and "decentralize" its draft, meaning that instead of the 32 teams each having a table on the draft floor, they were back in their home cities.

I was not a fan. I liked having the teams there so you could spot a trade in the works and have the team brass on stage to meet their newest draft picks.

Instead, we were left with the bizarre Wizard of Oz-like Zoom screen.

While fans weren't big on it, NHL Commissioner Bill Daly said that teams supported the decentralized draft format. (Photo by Adam Pantozzi/NHLI via Getty Images)

I think it'd be safe to say most fans weren't big on this change, but according to NHL Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly, teams seem to dig it.

What I will say is we continue to see support for a decentralized draft (from the clubs)," Daly told Daniele Franceschi and Zack Bodenstein, per Sportsnet. "A lot of the issues seem to be having efficient access to your hockey operations personnel in kind of a quiet, businesslike setting. I think our clubs take the draft very, very seriously, as they should. It goes to kind of define the future of the franchise, making good decisions and the right decisions from a team standpoint in a draft context.

"Given how crowded the end of our season has become with all the obligations clubs, managers and players have toward the very end of the season leading up to free agency, I think the efficiency of not having to travel to a central location is something that's very appealing to a number of our clubs."

I mean… I get it.

Why would you want to make your entire hockey operations staff and more fly out to a city at the start of the offseason, when you could all stay home and work from your own office?

It saves money and time, but takes away from the overall event.

There hasn't been a decision on next year's draft, but I think we should all assume they'll stick with the decentralized version.