Good morning hockey fans! My apologies on the delay of this article. This announcement in particular was a lot to digest and process. It certainly confused hockey writers, analysts, and fans alike. On Tuesday, NHL commissioner Gary Bettman officially announced the NHL’s return to play format as well as how the draft lottery will work. First of all, I’m going to attach the video with Gary Bettman’s announcement for you in case you need to digest it and the implications again. The video features slides that breaks down how returning to play and the draft lottery are going to work. Secondly, I’m including from the New Jersey Devils a breakdown of how the NHL Draft Lottery will work. This article gives an example of what could happen to traded draft picks that had conditions on them. For example, the article details what may happen with the New Jersey Devils as they traded Taylor Hall to the Arizona Coyotes and the conditional draft pick(s) they acquired. Lastly, I’m including tweets from various expert reporters in the hockey world and will share my reactions to their tweets and my overall reaction.
NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman announcement video:
NHL Draft Lottery Explanation
Tweets from respected hockey media & my reactions to them:
Overall Reaction:
This was a crazy and interesting day for anyone who follows hockey to say the least! The information Commissioner Bettman relayed to the hockey world was certainly overwhelming and confusing. I personally am trying to still wrap my head around all of this. For those who are for and want hockey back, this is definitely a positive step in the right direction. I’m just hoping that this can all be done safely and doesn’t impact anybody’s health long-term or worse. For those who think the season should just be over with, this was not a good day for you. I get, understand, and won’t invalidate your opinions, reasons and feelings for why the season should be canceled. Your points for ending the season are very valid. However, the reality is that the finish to the 2019-2020 NHL season is on the way. As I’ve said before, we just have to continue to wait and see what happens and see how this all plays out. It’s an ever changing situation, and currently we’re all along for the ride. Hopefully we can get back to hockey in a safe manner soon and drop the puck again!