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New York Times
14 hours ago
- Sport
- New York Times
NHL teams vote in favor of decentralized 2026 NHL Draft: Source
A majority of NHL clubs have voted in favor of a decentralized format for the 2026 NHL Draft, a league source confirmed to The Athletic's Pierre LeBrun. Prior to 2025, the NHL had a long history of doing its draft differently. Unlike other major leagues, which keep their front offices in home-based war rooms for the draft, the NHL used a centralized format, with all the team's decision makers on an arena floor. Advertisement Aside from the pandemic-affected 2020 and 2021 drafts, the 2025 NHL Draft was the first year the league went to a decentralized model. The last in-person draft was in 2024 at Sphere in Las Vegas. That old environment created great TV for fans and an easy way to create discourse for teams, but decision makers didn't love the format. They felt they lacked the necessary privacy for internal discourse on major team decisions. Management also expressed frustration with the calendar proximity to free agency, and ownership liked the appeal of cost savings. The league was criticized this summer for how the first round of the NHL Draft went, as it dragged on with several awkward moments led by the 'NHL Draft House' virtual interviews between the prospects and their new managers. That said, ratings were quite strong, and to the league's credit, the second day of the draft flowed very well, and much better than the COVID-era remote drafts. The league could learn from what didn't work to put on a better day one experience in 2026. While the average fan won't care about this detail, keeping the draft decentralized makes the NHL the only league without a marquee convention-like event. The MLB has the Winter Meetings, the NFL has the draft combine, and NBA has its summer league.
New York Times
26-06-2025
- Business
- New York Times
NHL rumblings: Tampering penalties and Marner signing timeline, plus latest on Giroux, Gibson, more
At the NHL general managers meeting last November, deputy commissioner Bill Daly addressed the room on the subject of tampering. Especially on and around July 1. I asked him that day why he decided to raise the topic. 'We just haven't emphasized its importance in recent years,' Daly responded. 'So, it's more of a refresher on what the rules are and what can be done and what can't be done and what's appropriate and what's not appropriate. That's all.' Advertisement And the timing of the refresher? 'There was some commentary in the media that I was uncomfortable with around July 1 that indicated that there may have been contact and negotiation before July 1,' he said. On Nov. 25, Daly followed up by sending a league memo on tampering to all 32 clubs. So here we are, with July 1 just days away. 'We sent out a reminder to clubs this past week about pre-free-agency talks and certainly hope that will be useful as a reminder,' Daly told The Athletic on Wednesday. 'If we are made aware of tampering going on, we will be required to act.' What are the repercussions for a team found to be tampering? 'Fines, suspensions and potential loss of draft picks,' Daly said. So, will we see an impact when James Duthie welcomes the hockey world on TSN's Free Agent Frenzy on Tuesday? Will it be a little quieter than normal in the first hour after the market opens? Hard to say, honestly. Let's be real: Any team waiting until July 1 to communicate for the first time with a notable unrestricted free agent is toast. They would get left in the dust by their competition. At the very least, every team interested in certain free agents has to lay the groundwork before July 1 to make sure they're in the mix. And to be fair, usually it's agents reaching out to teams, feeling them out. Agents leave the draft combine in Buffalo every year feeling a lot clearer about what the market will look like for their clients, and it was no different this year. But perhaps teams and agents are being a little more careful this year in how far their conversations are going ahead of July 1. As one agent said this week, maybe don't ratify your agreement in the first five minutes after the market opens, right? What's the rush? (I still don't understand why the NHL and NHL Players' Association did away with the UFA speaking period, which was legalized tampering in the day leading up to free agency, when extending the CBA in July 2020. It's the NHLPA that wanted it gone.) Advertisement Whatever the case, it doesn't sound as though the No. 1 free agent on the board will be a 12:01 p.m. Eastern signing, for starters. 'As per the rules, we are only permitted to speak with teams beginning July 1,' Darren Ferris, Mitch Marner's agent, said Wednesday. 'At that time, prospective teams will have the opportunity to speak with Mitch directly. Following those conversations, Mitch will make an informed and thoughtful decision.' That doesn't sound like a first-hour signing. What Ferris didn't say exactly, is when that decision would be made. My TSN colleague Darren Dreger reported on a SportsCentre hit during the Stanley Cup Final that after soliciting interest from teams on July 1, Ferris and Marner would whittle the list to the clubs he and his family want to visit 'before making a decision by July 15.' Teams aren't convinced that's how it's going to go down, but I get why Ferris may want that out there ahead of time. It takes the pressure off the situation just in case a Marner signing doesn't happen on July 1. And if Marner really does feel the need to visit teams and cities, well, that will indeed delay things. Remember that prized free-agent defenseman Alex Pietrangelo did visit Vegas before signing with the Golden Knights on Oct. 12, 2020, three days after the market opened. And of course, Zach Parise and Ryan Suter made their splashy signings in Minnesota on July 4, 2012, also three days after the market opened. There are other examples as well. Heck, Nazem Kadri didn't sign until Aug. 18 when he was UFA in 2022 (the market opened July 13 that year), although there were other factors at play there with the Flames at the time needing to make more moves ahead of the signing, most notably moving Sean Monahan to Montreal that same day to make the cap math work. Kadri still signed a very nice contract given that it was the flat-cap environment, seven years and $49 million. So waiting didn't hurt him. Advertisement Kadri's agent, by the way? Ferris. Which is maybe just a coincidence, but at the very least, it tells you if Marner's situation isn't settled by the end of Tuesday, it's all part of the process for Ferris. Here are rumblings from elsewhere around the NHL: The Ottawa Senators had more talks Wednesday with Pat Brisson, the agent for pending UFA forward Claude Giroux. It's been a grind of a negotiation, by all accounts, on a one-year deal. I don't sense Wednesday's conversation produced the breakthrough the sides had hoped for, but the plan is to keep at it. I get that some Vancouver Canucks fans weren't thrilled that the team had to give up an asset to get Evander Kane from the Edmonton Oilers on Wednesday and take on his full $5.125 million cap hit on the remaining year of his contract, helping a rival with their cap issues. But Kane's agent, Dan Milstein, said there was interest from two other teams, so there was competition and interest there. Milstein said Kane's preference was to go to his native Vancouver and credited the Oilers for making that happen. The two other teams were in the Eastern Conference. I actually think a healthy Kane might have a decent year for the Canucks next season in a good role. Speaking of the Oilers, they still need to move more money. It's not just that Evan Bouchard is in line for a huge raise on his expiring $3.9 million cap hit. Remember: Leon Draisaitl is going from $8.5 million to $14 million on the cap next season, too — plus the Oilers putting the finishing touches on Trent Frederic's extension. Next up, the Oilers are looking to trade Viktor Arvidsson and his remaining $4 million cap hit for next season. Arvidsson has a full no-move clause, but that shouldn't be an issue. He met with Oilers management after the season, and both sides agreed that a change could be beneficial for all involved. The agent and team are working together to find him a new home. The Oilers have had several inquiries already. I would expect a trade within the next two to three weeks. And then, well, the Oilers have to find replacement players for Kane and Arvidsson — cheaper guys who can contribute. Not easy to hit that right. Finally on Kane, Daly told The Athletic on Wednesday evening that there is 'no change' as far as the league's investigation into the Oilers and potential long-term-injured-reserve circumvention with Kane this season. The league put the Oilers on notice a while ago, but whether things proceed to the next level on that front, Daly said, remains to be seen. Advertisement Stop me if you've read this before (guilty as charged), but this might finally be the summer that John Gibson gets moved. It's my understanding that several teams have inquired of late on Gibson, 31, who had a better season after a few injury-plagued ones and whose contract is down to two years left on it at a $6.4 million cap hit. It's not a surprise that teams are calling as the UFA crop after Jake Allen isn't very sexy. Gibson has a modified no-trade but is very open to a move. So Ducks GM Pat Verbeek and veteran agent Kurt Overhardt are working together on it. There's a sense that it's finally going to happen, but I will also add that Verbeek isn't overly interested in retaining salary on the trade unless he's incentivized to do so. He would take a contract back in a deal, though. And that contract could be another goalie. Again, I know we've all heard this before, but it feels more real than ever. Just don't hold me to it! Talks continue between the Stars and agent Bayne Pettinger on a new deal for pending UFA captain Jamie Benn, who turns 36 on July 18. The sides are focused on a 35-plus-type one-year deal. July 1 is right around the corner, but there seems to be no concern that it won't get done. Benn doesn't want to go anywhere. (Top photo of Mitch Marner: Claus Andersen / Getty Images)
