Canadian NHL Owner Takes a Stand Against Gary Bettman and the NHL for Controversial Vote
Photo credit: New York Rangers Insider
While the NHL is expected to continue with the decentralized Draft format for the 2026 NHL Entry Draft next year despite the awkward event this year, one Canadian team voted against it.
It looks as though the NHL will be continuing its controversial decision to have a decentralized Draft format for next year's 2026 NHL Entry Draft, despite the numerous awkward moments late last month.
After each prospect was announced in the opening round, which took over 4 hours to complete, they were walked into a back room for a live video Zoom interview with executives from their new NHL club, which drew negative reviews from fans.
This format will likely be sticking around for at least another year at the reported wishes of most NHL general managers, but there was a team that was openly not in favor of it.
Reporting on this only because I'm a bit surprised by the outcome. Expect the NHL to give the Decentralized Draft model another try next year. Strong majority of GM's voted in favour of the new status quo with some potential production tweaks to move the 1st round along.
Per TSN's Bruce Garrioch, the Ottawa Senators did not like the decentralized Draft format and openly stood against it.
The #Sens weren't in favour of this. Michael Andlauer believes the picture on stage in the jersey is an important moment for the players. The cost of the draft is the reason it's staying this way. Only the host city benefits.
The even was held at the Peacock Theater in downtown Los Angeles, while teams operated from their own "war room" style locations, similar to that of the NFL and NBA Drafts.
| POLL | ||
JUILLET 12 | 956 ANSWERS Canadian NHL Owner Takes a Stand Against Gary Bettman and the NHL for Controversial Vote Are you in favor of the NHL continuing the decentralized Draft format? | ||
| Yes | 199 | 20.8 % |
| No | 757 | 79.2 % |
| List of polls | ||
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